COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION OPENS SIXTY-SIXTH SESSION

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this morning opened its sixty-sixth session at the Palais Wilson in Geneva and heard an address by the Chief of the Treaties and Commission Branch of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Maria-Francisca Ize-Charrin

In her statement, Ms. Ize-Charrin said the importance of addressing the current and most acute manifestations of racism and xenophobia by focusing on steps that could prevent situations of discrimination, including their escalation to some of the worst forms of human rights violations, could not be over-emphasized.

"We must never forget such tragedies as that of Rwanda in 1994 and the horrifying drama and the massacre in Srebrenica one year later, both largely driven by racial and ethnic intolerance and hatred", Ms. Ize-Charrin said. Those events reminded the international community in all their brutality that racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance were not vanishing phenomenon, and that vigilance was never exaggerated in such cases. Preventive measures were one of the most useful tools in dealing with the dangers posed by racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia, she added.

The Committee also adopted its programme of work for the session during which it will consider country reports received from the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, France, Luxembourg, Nigeria, Australia, Ireland, Bahrain and Azerbaijan. The Committee may also decide to take early warning measures or to initiate urgent action procedures with regard to situations in States parties.


During the course of its three-week session, the Committee will hold a thematic discussion on the prevention of genocide on 28 February and 1 March and a general debate on multiculturalism on 8 March.

The Committee will also be briefed by the Secretariat on the follow-up activities to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance.

Under its review procedure for States parties which are at least five years late for the submission of their initial or periodic reports, the Committee decided to defer its consideration of the situation in Ethiopia, Nicaragua and Bosnia Herzegovina which have promised to submit their reports soon. El Salvador, which had also been on the list, had just submitted a report which would be reviewed at a future session.

The Committee will also study, in closed session, communications from individuals or groups of individuals claiming to be victims of racial discrimination.

The Committee will meet at 3 p.m. this afternoon to begin its consideration of the sixth to fifteenth periodic reports of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, presented in one document (CERD/C/451/Add.1).

Statement

MARIA-FRANCISCA IZE-CHARRIN, Chief of the Treaties and Commission Branch of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the importance of addressing the current and most acute manifestations of racism and xenophobia by focusing on steps that could prevent situations of discrimination, including their escalation to some of the worst forms of human rights violations, could not be over-emphasized. One should never forget such tragedies as that of Rwanda in 1994 and the horrifying drama and the massacre in Srebrenica one year later, both largely driven by racial and ethnic intolerance and hatred. Those events reminded the international community in all their brutality that racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance were not vanishing phenomenon, and that vigilance was never exaggerated in such cases. Preventive measures were one of the most useful tools in dealing with the dangers posed by racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia. In that regard, she welcomed the thematic discussion which the Committee would hold on 28 February on the prevention of genocide with the participation of the Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on that issue, Mr. Juan Mendez.

Referring to the 176-page report of the International Commission of Enquiry on Darfur, Ms. Ize-Charrin said that in her statement of 16 February to the Security Council, High Commissioner Louise Arbour had highlighted the findings of the Commission, according to which large scale war crimes and crimes against humanity had been committed, as well as its recommendations for immediate action. Those included, among other things, referral to the International Criminal Court, the establishment of an International Compensation Commission, and the granting of unimpeded access to the International Committee of the Red Cross and United Nations human rights monitors to all those detained in relation to the situation in Darfur.

The Office had continued its efforts to implement the Secretary-General’s agenda for reform, outlined in his 2002 report "Strengthening the United Nations: an agenda for further change" (A/57/387), Ms. Ize-Charrin said. Of particular relevance to the work of the Committee were ongoing efforts to enhance the efficiency and impact of human rights treaty monitoring. The Third Inter-Committee Meeting, held in June of last year, had examined draft guidelines on an expanded core document and treaty-specific targeted reports. The Meeting had requested all Committees to consider them carefully and make suggestions for improvements.

Turning to another aspect of the Secretary-General’s agenda for reform, namely ongoing activities under "Action 2 programme", Ms. Ize-Charrin said that the programme was officially launched by the High Commissioner at a ceremony in New York on 27 October 2004, and aimed at enhancing inter-agency collaboration in promoting human rights at the country level. The Office was actively involved in those activities and had among other things prepared guidance notes for United Nations Country Teams on how they could engage in the work of the human rights treaty bodies. The High Commissioner had stressed her determination to help United Nations Country Teams to integrate the fight against racism and xenophobia, as well as the protection of minorities and indigenous peoples, in their programmes designed to assist States in developing their national human rights protection system.