Background Release

COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION TO MEET IN GENEVA 2 - 19 AUGUST

Committee to Consider Reports of Venezuela , Georgia ,

Zambia , Barbados , Tanzania , Iceland , Turkmenistan , Nigeria

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 28 July (UN Information Service) -- The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination will hold its sixty-seventh session at the Palais des Nations (Room XI) in Geneva from 2 to 19 August 2005 to review anti-discrimination efforts undertaken by the Governments of Venezuela, Georgia, Zambia, Barbados, Tanzania, Iceland, Turkmenistan and Nigeria.

These countries are among the 170 States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.  The 18-member Committee, the first body created by the United Nations to review actions by States to fulfil obligations under a specific human-rights agreement, examines reports submitted periodically by States parties on efforts to comply with the Convention.  Government representatives generally present the report, discuss its contents with Committee members, and answer questions.

At this session, the Experts will also look at the implementation of the Convention in Malawi, Seychelles, Saint Lucia and Mozambique under its review procedure.  These States parties are at least five years late for the submission of their initial or periodic reports to the Committee.

The tenth to thirteenth periodic reports of Venezuela were taken up on 13 to 15 August 1996 and the Committee’s final conclusions on them can be found in document CRC/C/304/Add.17; the initial report of Georgia was taken up on 15 and 16 March 2001 and the Committee’s final conclusions on it can be found in document CERD/C/304/Add.120; the seventh to eleventh periodic reports of Zambia were taken up on 3 August 1993 and the Committee’s final recommendations on them can be found in document A/48/18 (paragraphs 250-256); Barbados, which had not submitted a report since 1985 was last taken up on 10 March 1994, and the Committee’s final conclusions can be found in A/49/18, paragraphs 284-291; Malawi was taken up in August 2003 although it has never submitted a report, and the Committee’s concluding observations can be found in document CERD/C/63/CO/12; the Committee took up Tanzania on 9 August 1995 although the eighth to eleventh reports had not been submitted, and the Committee’s final recommendations can be found in document A/50/18 (paragraphs 579-586); the fifth and sixth periodic reports of Iceland were considered on 7 March 2001, and the Committee’s final conclusions on them can be found in document CERD/C/304/Add.111; and although no report was submitted by the Seychelles since 1986, the Committee examined the situation in that country on 21 March 1997, and the Committee’s final recommendations can be found in A/52/18, paragraphs 374-376.

The situation in Turkmenistan was taken up on 12 March 2002 in the absence of a report and the Committee’s final conclusions can be found in document CERD/C/60/CO/15; the thirteenth periodic report of Nigeria was taken up on 10 and 11 August 1995, and the Committee’s final conclusions can be found in document A/50/18, paragraphs 598-636; Saint Lucia was taken up in March 1998 although the initial report, due in 1991, had not been submitted, and the Committee’s final recommendations can be found in document A/53/18, paragraphs 158-160; and the Committee reviewed the situation in Mozambique, which had submitted no report since 1984, on 13 August 1999, and the Committee’s final recommendations can be found in document A/54/18, paragraphs 436-438.

During the course of the three-week session, the Committee will also be briefed on follow-up activities to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.  The Committee will hold a general debate on multiculturalism on 9 August.

The Committee will also discuss during two meetings, on the afternoon of 8 August and morning of 16 August, its draft General Recommendation XXXI on the prevention of racial discrimination in the administration and functioning of the system of criminal justice.

In addition, the Committee will study, in closed session, communications from individuals claiming to be victims of racial discrimination.  Only complaints against the 46 States parties that have recognized the competence of the Committee under article 14 of the Convention are admissible.

Also at this session, the Committee will continue its consideration of the prevention of racial discrimination, including through early warning measures and urgent action procedures.  Here, the Committee may decide to take steps to prevent existing problems from escalating into conflicts or may decide to initiate urgent action aimed at responding to problems requiring immediate attention to prevent or limit the scale or number of serious violations of the Convention.  The Committee may also take action or further action regarding States parties already considered under this item.

States Parties to Convention

At present, the following 170 States are parties to the Convention:  Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Equatorial Guinea, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, San Marino, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Communications under Article 14

Under article 14 of the Convention, the Committee considers communications from individuals or groups of individuals claiming to be victims of a violation by States parties of any of the rights set forth in the Convention, provided the States concerned have recognized the competence of the Committee in this regard. The following 45 States parties have already done so:  Algeria, Austria, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Committee Membership and Officers

The members of the Committee, elected in their individual capacity, are:  Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr (Egypt); Nourredine Amir (Algeria); Alexei Avtonomov (Russian Federation); Ralph Boyd (United States); Jose Francisco Cali Tzay (Guatemala); Fatima-Binta Victoire Dah (Burkina Faso); Régis de Gouttes (France); Kurt Herndl (Austria); Patricia Nozipho January-Bardill (South Africa); Morten Kjaerum (Denmark); José Augusto Lindgren Alves (Brazil); Raghavan Vasudevan Pillai (India); Agha Shahi (Pakistan); Linos Alexander Sicilianos (Greece); Tang Chengyuan (China); Patrick Thornberry (United Kingdom); Luis Valencia Rodriguez (Ecuador); and Mario Jorge Yutzis (Argentina).

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For information media • not an official record