Legislation in Uruguay

 

 

This section will give a short overview and chronology of important legislation in Uruguay which aim to eliminate discrimination and raise awareness and equality for Afro-Uruguayans. This list is by no means exhaustive. We mainly present laws from a summary provided by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Report from the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.

 

As stated by the Committee “Uruguay unreservedly condemns any system of apartheid or racial segregation. There are no laws or regulations whatsoever in Uruguay that promote racial segregation” (United Nations “Reports submitted by States parties under article 9 of the Convention” 2010, 10).

 

 

Law of 7-IX-1825 (Free Womb law) passed in 1825

 

Established that every person in Uruguay is with no exceptions born free (Archivo Presidencia República De Uruguay “Ley De 7-IX-1825.”, 2005).

 

 

Article 7 and 131 of Uruguayan Constitution of 1830

 

Articles declare that all people are born free when born within the borders of Uruguay.

 

No one is born a slave in Uruguay, and slave-trade, as well as the establishing of slavery, is always prohibited (Poder Legislativo “Constitución De La República - 1830.", n.d.).

 

 

Law 316 in 1853

 

Declared the elimination of patronage over the children of slaves who were declared to be free. Slave trade was now seen as an act of piracy (Bucheli and Scuro 2008, 14).

 

 

Article 8 of Uruguayan Constitution of 1934

 

The article states the equality of everyone before the law (Poder Legislativo. "Constitución De La República Constitución 1934 Plebiscitada El 19 De Abril De 1934." n.d).

 

 

Article 272 of Código Penal (Criminal Law) in 1934

 

Abolition of sodomy as a crime.(Barrán “Visión Social de la Homosexualidad”, n.d.).

 

 

Law 13,670 passed in 1968

 

Passed to confirm the signing of the Convención Internacional sobre la Eliminación de Todas las Formas de Discriminación Racial (Naciones Unidas “Examen de los informes presentados por los Estados partes en virtud del artículo 9 de la Convención” 2015b, 5).

 

 

Law 16,045 passed in 1989

 

Penalizes discrimination in general. Specifies the equality of men and women in the workplace (5).

 

 

Law 16,048 passed in 1989

 

Penalizes hate-crimes based on skin color, race, religion, ethnicity, citizenship, sexual identity and/or sexuality (Poder Legislativo “Ley No.16.048”, 1989).

 

 

Law 17,677 passed in 2003

 

Penalizes hate-crimes based on skin color, race, religion, ethnicity, citizenship, sexual identity and/or sexuality. This law is a revised version of law 16,048. Significant changes are not apparent (Poder Legislativo “Ley No. 17.677”, 2003).

 

 

Law 17,817 passed in 2004

 

Establishment of Honorary Commission Against Racism, Xenophobia and All Other Forms of Discrimination. Proposal of national change to combat inequalities. This act is the basis for positive discrimination on a national level. Declaration of national interest in the fight against any form of discrimination (United Nations “Reports submitted by States parties under article 9 of the Convention” 2010, 8).

 

 

Law 18,059 passed in 2006

 

Establishment of December 3 as Día Nacional Del Candombe, la Cultura Afrouruguaya y la Equidad Racial (National Day of Candombe, Afro-Uruguayan Culture and Racial Equity). Declaration of candombe as cultural heritage. Candombe was declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO in 2009 (24).

 

 

Law 18,446 passed in 2008

 

Creation of the independent National Human Rights Institution. Responsible for the guarantee of human rights as a special good (2f.).

 

 

Law 18,447 passed in 2008

 

“[M]emorandum of understanding with the Government of Brazil on combating discrimination and promoting racial equality” (10).

 

 

Law 19,122 passed in 2013

 

Created to support the participation of Afro-Uruguayans in the fields of education and employment. Establishes people of African descent as historical victims of discrimination and racism. Introduced a quota stating that eight percent of government jobs must go to Afro-Uruguayans (Naciones Unidas “Examen de los informes presentados por los Estados partes en virtud del artículo 9 de la Convención” 2015 b, 4f.).

 

 

Conclusion

 

As we look at the laws presented, we can conclude that Uruguay is a progressive country when it comes to respectful legislation towards its Afro-descendant community. As George Reid Andrews pointed out in our interview, public awareness of these new laws and pieces of legislation is often very low, which makes it even more difficult for these laws to be enforced. In the future, the success of legislation on behalf of Afro-descendants in Uruguay will rely greatly on the general public being informed that the laws are being put into place.