and the question of their worked on foreign vessels, therefore had to be considered at the international Protection of the &a&v trade level. union right6 and chilw members of the Committee asked what further 559. With regard to that issue, progress had been achieved, if any, since the submission of the report, in enacting legislation to ensure an equal share of responsibilitiec, duties and rights between spouses: and, in that regard, whether any of the bills mentioned in paragraph 226 of the report had been enacted. Further information was also requested on procedures governing filiation and the grantinq of Malagasy nationality, particularly in the case of children born of unknown parents, and it was asked whether Madagascar intended to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 560. In reply to the questions asked, the representative of the State party indicated that there would be no constitutional changes in the law governing which was based on customary the protection of the family and children, specificities and historical facts. The provisions relating to the sharing of community property had been amended by an act of 20 July 1990, which established equality between the spouses. The idea of the husband as head of household was also disappearing in Malagesy law. Madagascar, a country which had a very young population and which therefore attached a great deal of importance to the rights of the child, had signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. The criteria used to determine the nationality of a child born of unknown parents might seem arbitrary, but they were based on an old tradition whereby the members of grass-roots communities were chosen by co-optationr in such cases, the judge requested the views of the community where the child lived before deciding whether or not to give it Malaqasy nationality. Madagascar, B country of transit for many Asian immigrants, could not consider the possibility of giving Malagasy nationality to all children born on its soil. 5Gl. With reference to that issue, members of the Committee wished to receive information on minorities that had not yet fully succeeded in taking their place in the Malagasy nation. They also asked what the term “minority” meant in Malaqasy law: whether the authorities of that country knew about the “threshold of tolerance” concept: and whether assistance was given to persons in Madagascar who did not speak the official language, particularly in their contacts with the administrative or judicial authorities. 562. In his reply, the representative of the State party stressed that, since had Madagascar was a country settled by immigrants, many foreign minorities been livinq there for centuries. Those minorities had integrated and had formed the Malagasy nation. The influence of the European, Arab/Muslim, Asian, Chinese, African and Indonesian communities Varied from region to region, but it was still strong, particularly in the economic field. With the exception of regrettable incidents that had taken place against Indian/Pakistanis and the Comorian minority in 1976, the number of foreigners did not give rise to any real problems in Madagascar, and there was ti:xt- no need for the “threshold of tolerance” concept. Any member of a minority who had Malagasy nationality was fully integratea into society. The members of -138-