E/CN.4/2004/18/Add.1 page 20 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. A human rights department was established in 1998 within the Ministry of Justice, to coordinate the preparation of periodic reports to the various treaty-monitoring bodies, thereby enabling the country to catch up with its backlog of reports. 46. In the political sphere, Trinidad and Tobago became independent from the United Kingdom in 1962 and has maintained the multiparty democratic system introduced for the first free elections in 1956. The People’s National Movement (PNM) of Dr. Eric Williams, a multiracial nationalist party with the slogan “No Mother Africa, No Mother India, No Mother Who”, rallied all the groups victimized by the colonial system to win the first elections. It held on to political power until 1986, when it was replaced by a coalition led by the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR). Its spirit of inclusiveness notwithstanding, PNM was perceived as a tool of Black nationalism that had allowed an “Afro-Saxon” elite to run the country. PNM regained power in 1991, but lost it again in 1995 to a coalition of NAR and the United National Congress (UNC), which was predominantly Indo-Trinidadian but did not exclude other ethnic groups. For the first time in its history, Trinidad and Tobago had an Indo-Trinidadian Prime Minister, Basdeo Panday, until 2001, when he was replaced by Patrick Manning, the leader of PNM. The near-parity between Afro-Trinidadians and Indo-Trinidadians at election time can inflame racial tensions between PNM and UNC supporters, as happened at the last elections. However, the large mixed-race population is a factor that complicates politics in Trinidad and Tobago. Furthermore, the two main groups are not completely homogeneous or discrete but are affected by religious, class and colour divisions and a variety of other influences, including Western culture, that are not always conducive to an automatic “racial vote”. Indo-Trinidadians may be Hindu, Muslim or Christian, for example. Religion is not a determining factor for Afro-Trinidadians, but colour and social class affect the cohesiveness of the group. NAR, for example, has a strong base in Tobago, whose inhabitants lay claim to a certain “African” authenticity by contrast with the more cosmopolitan Trinidad. Tobagoans tend to vote in accordance with the island leader’s instructions and the island’s special interests. In addition, the mingling of races is an ongoing process that continues to transform society in Trinidad and Tobago. Racial animosity may break out in the heat of political campaigns, but does not take on such alarming proportions as in Guyana. B. The issue of race relations 47. It is worth recalling that, in its concluding observations on Trinidad and Tobago’s periodic reports,8 the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination did not accept the Government’s assertion that there was no racial discrimination in Trinidad and Tobago. The Special Rapporteur found the issue of race relations in Trinidad and Tobago to be quite complex. The periodic exploitation of race in political campaigns is offset by the people’s strong desire to live together, as reflected in the mingling of the races and the religious and spiritual ecumenism of the various faiths. The democratic pendulum, which allows the various political parties access to power, and the fact that political coalitions can be formed which transcend racial barriers, help temper the racial acrimony displayed by certain extremist fringes of the population.