COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION OPENS SIXTY-THIRD SESSION AT THE PALAIS DES NATIONS

COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION OPENS

SIXTY-THIRD SESSION AT THE PALAIS DES NATIONS

Hears Address by Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 4 August (UN Information Service) -- The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this morning opened its sixty-third session at the Palais des Nations by hearing an address by Acting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand G. Ramcharan.

In his statement, Mr. Ramcharan said that the meeting was taking place at a troubled time for human rights, in the midst of which the Committee was called upon to uphold the principles of equality and non-discrimination.  Nothing was more central to the success of the United Nations than the fulfilment of its human rights mission, he said, and the Committee had made a crucial contribution to this task.  It was in its charge to foster democratic societies grounded in the rule of law and respect for the principle of equal enjoyment of human rights by all, while taking into account the historical context and present-day realities of each country.

Without democracy, Mr. Ramcharan said, the rule of law and respect for human rights, the edifice crumbled.  Human rights norms introduced indispensable elements of non-discrimination and equity in the development process.  The aim of development was to help achieve realization of these norms, while the implementation of human rights facilitated and accelerated development.  The work of the Committee in promoting and protecting equality and the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination was deeply appreciated, and it was hoped that the session would be fruitful and successful.

In the course of its three-week session, the Committee will review anti-discrimination efforts undertaken by the Governments of Albania, Cape Verde, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Republic of Korea, Bolivia, Iran, Latvia, Finland, Norway, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.  It will also look into the state of affairs in Suriname, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Bahamas, and Malawi to be considered under its review procedure for States whose reports were seriously overdue.  These countries are among the 169 States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.  A meeting with UNESCO would also be held.

Also this morning, the Committee approved its agenda for the three-week session and decided to hold general debates on situations and aspects relating the International Convention, as well as to the implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action of the Durban World Conference.  It also adopted its programme of work, after agreeing to defer consideration of the reports of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tajikistan and Zambia, since these countries had promised to provide their reports within a short delay.

During the meeting, the Committee also discussed the meetings coverage accounts prepared by the Information Service on the work of the human rights treaty bodies.  The President of the Committee drew the attention of Experts to complaints by certain States parties to these accounts, as well as observations made by other treaty bodies on their accuracy and objectivity.  It was agreed that the question would be raised in the meeting of the Committee with States parties on 19 August.

The Committee also regretted the death of one of its members, Yury Rechetov (Russian Federation), a long-term participant, whose presence would be sadly missed.  A minute of silence was held in commemoration.

The nomination of Alexei S. Avtonomov (Russian Federation) was confirmed by the Committee.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it is scheduled to take up the initial to fourth periodic reports of Albania (CERD/C/397/Add.1).

Statement by Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights

BERTRAND G. RAMCHARAN, Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the meeting took place at a troubled time for human rights.  Terrorists continued to strike in different parts of the world, and innocent lives were lost and people maimed.  Such acts were condemned unreservedly, wherever and by whomever committed.  Terrorism, he said, was just plain wrong and criminal.  Inequality, within and among nations, was rampant, as were religious discrimination and persecution.  Discrimination against migrants was commonplace in receiving countries.  Racism and racial discrimination were as serious as when the Convention was drafted.  Gross violations of human rights were commonplace in many parts of the world, and the recommendations of international human rights treaty bodies were frequently flouted.

In the midst of all this, he said, the Committee was called upon to uphold the principles of equality and non-discrimination.  In determining whether there was discrimination, the Committee had previously said that it would look to see whether an action under scrutiny “had an unjustifiable disparate impact upon a group distinguished by race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin”.  It had recommended that States parties established national commissions or other appropriate bodies to promote respect for the enjoyment of human rights without discrimination; to review government policy towards protection against racial discrimination; to monitor legislative compliance with the provisions of the International Convention; to educate the public about the obligations of States parties under the Convention; and to assist the Government in the preparation of reports to be submitted to the Committee.

The decision to establish an item on the prevention of racial discrimination including early warning measures and urgent action procedures as one of the regular and principal agenda items was a crucial one.  Within the framework of efforts to prevent racial discrimination, the Committee had declared, he said, its readiness to take early warning measures aimed at preventing existing problems from escalating into conflicts, or to initiate urgent action procedures aimed at responding to problems requiring immediate action to prevent or limit the scale or number of serious violations of the Convention.  Strategically, this preventive approach was a breakthrough.

Nothing was more central to the success of the United Nations than the fulfilment of its human rights mission, he said, and the Committee had made a crucial contribution to this task.  It was in its charge to foster democratic societies grounded in the rule of law and respect for the principle of equal enjoyment of human rights by all, while taking into account the historical context and present-day realities of each country.  Without democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, the edifice crumbled.  Unless basic human rights of all, in full compliance with the principle of equality, were respected and protected, people would not be motivated to produce, and development would lag, or there could even be regression.  A society without respect for human rights, and in which people were being victimized because they belonged to a particular group, was a society that was working against its own development.

Poverty, underdevelopment, marginalization and social exclusion were closely associated with racism and racial discrimination, and contributed to the persistence of racist attitudes and practices, which in turn generated more underdevelopment and poverty.  Human rights norms introduced indispensable elements of non-discrimination and equity in the development process.  The aim of development was to help achieve realization of these norms, while the implementation of human rights facilitated and accelerated development.

The meeting with States parties to the International Convention on 19 August would be the first of its kind in the Committee’s history, he said, and hoped that it would provide an opportunity for a fruitful exchange of views on many issues, as well as providing an occasion to explore how the work of the Committee could be enhanced.  Part of the session, he noted, would be again devoted to the review of working methods, and this was welcomed.  It was trusted that this would bear fruit, in the appearance of a larger number of reports, and better follow-up to concluding observations.

The work of the Committee in promoting and protecting equality and the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination, he concluded, was deeply appreciated, and it was hoped that it would have a fruitful and successful session.

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