Credit: OHCHR
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) opened its 85th session on Monday, August 11 in Geneva, Switzerland. During this session, which will close on August 29, the Committee’s agenda includes its review of periodic reports from seven States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), consideration of individual complaints regarding alleged human rights violations, discussion of its working methods, and consultations with non-governmental organizations (NGOs). [OHCHR] The live webcast of the Committee’s interactive dialogue with States can be viewed on UN Treaty Body Webcast.
State Reports
During this session, CERD will consider periodic reports submitted by El Salvador, the United States, Peru, Cameroon, Iraq, Japan, and Estonia. Each of the States under review is submitting a combined report for two or more reporting cycles, meaning that previous reports had not been submitted in a timely fashion.
The Committee will meet with a delegation from each State under review, during which time the delegation will have the opportunity to orally present its report and engage in an interactive dialogue with the Committee about specific areas of concern. As part of its review of these States’ implementation of ICERD, the Committee will also meet with NGOs to gain additional information and perspective on the situation of racial discrimination in each country.
In accordance with the CERD’s reporting procedure, States parties to ICERD are to submit a report detailing their implementation of the treaty every two years; this report complements a separate common core document that contains general information about the State and its human rights protections and is used by other treaty bodies in their reviews. See CERD, Guidelines for the CERD-Specific Document to be Submitted by States Parties under Article 9, Paragraph 1, of the Convention, UN Doc. CERD/C/2007/1, 13 June 2008; UN, Compilation of Guidelines on the Form and Content of Reports to be Submitted by States Parties to the International Human Rights Treaties, UN Doc. HRI/GEN/2/Rev. 6, 3 June 2009.
The schedule of reviews for CERD’s 85th session is as follows:
Monday, August 11:
Informal meeting with NGOs from Peru and El Salvador (see a recap here)
Tuesday, August 12:
Informal meeting with NGOs from the United States of America (see a recap here)
Review of El Salvador
Wednesday, August 13:
Review of El Salvador, continued
Review of the United States of America
Thursday, August 14:
Review of the United States, continued
Review of Peru
Friday, August 15:
Review of Peru, continued
Monday, August 18:
Informal meeting with NGOs
Review of Cameroon
Tuesday, August 19:
Review of Cameroon, continued
Review of Iraq
Wednesday, August 20:
Review of Iraq, continued
Review of Japan
Thursday, August 21:
Review of Japan, continued
Review of Estonia
Friday, August 22:
Review of Estonia, continued
[OHCHR] The Chairperson of the Committee confirmed that Iraq’s delegation would be attending the session, despite the ongoing conflict in that country. [OHCHR: CERD 85th Session]
Review of the United States
CERD will be reviewing the seventh through ninth periodic reports of the United States. The combined report outlines the steps that the United States has taken to implement the concluding observations from its 2008 CERD review and addresses the topics designated in CERD’s list of themes for the United States. The list of themes is not exhaustive, but is intended to guide discussion between the State delegation and the Committee. The six themes slated for discussion at this session include:
- the Convention in domestic law, institutional and policy framework for its implementation (articles 1, 2 and 4)
- discrimination against national or ethnic minorities (articles 2–7)
- discrimination against indigenous peoples (articles 2–7)
- the situation of non-citizens, including migrants, refugees and asylum seekers (articles 5 and 7)
- access to justice (Article 6)
- training, education and other measures to combat prejudice and intolerance (Article 7)
Concluding observations for the United States and all other States under review will be available on the 85th session page following the session.
Civil Society Reports
Civil society plays an important role in CERD’s review of States implementation of the ICERD. Civil society organizations may submit alternative reports to the Committee to supplement the periodic report submitted by the State. NGOs also have the opportunity to engage with the Committee during the scheduled consultations. For this session, CERD received at least one alternative report for every country under review. NGOs, law school clinics, and advocates from the United States submitted more that 75 alternative reports documenting both general and specific issue areas where they believe that the United States has failed to meet it obligations to eliminate racial discrimination.
Several key civil and human rights groups, including the ACLU, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch, submitted extensive reports outlining some of the most pervasive areas of racial discrimination in the United States. These include racial profiling, racial discrimination within the criminal justice system, discrimination against indigenous peoples, and access to healthcare.
Other civil society organizations, such as the Navajo Nation Human Rights Council, Massachusetts Global Action, the National Immigration Justice Center, and the Sentencing Project, submitted reports addressing specific types of discrimination affecting their constituents or the communities they serve. For example, a succinct report from the Navajo Nation Human Rights Council focuses on the United State’s “failure to implement its previous recommendations on taking concrete measures to guarantee the protection of Native American’s sacred places” and other issues directly involving the rights of the Navajo people. Navajo Human Rights Council, 2014 Shadow Report: Regarding the United States of America report submitted by States parties under Article 9 of the International Convention on the Elmination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (2014).
Due to the number of civil society representatives from the United States attending the session in Geneva, the CERD Committee dedicated the entire morning meeting on Tuesday, August 12 to consultation with NGOs from the United States and held the interactive dialogue in a separate location. [OHCHR: CERD 85th Session]
Other Topics of Discussion
On the opening day of the session, Committee members discussed several issues, including the simplified reporting procedure that will make it easier for States to submit their initial reports and the allocation of time to hear from the numerous NGOs representatives participating in this session. Additionally, the Committee discussed how to use the extra four weeks of plenary time allotted to CERD next year as part of the treaty body strengthening process. [OHCHR: CERD 85th Session]
Further discussion among members of the Committee will occur in closed meetings throughout the session, including several dedicated to working methods, according to the proposed programme of work.
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is one of ten United Nations human rights treaty bodies. CERD, a body of 18 independent experts, monitors States’ implementation of ICERD through its consideration of State reports, individual complaints, inter-State complaints, and early-warning and urgent procedures, as well as its preparation of general recommendations and thematic discussions. Currently, 177 States have ratified ICERD. The Committee typically holds two sessions each year. Information about upcoming session may be found on CERD’s schedule.
The agenda, proposed programme of work, and other important documents for CERD’s 85th session may be downloaded from the session page.
Visit IJRC’s CERD page for additional information about the work of the Committee.