COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION HOLDS DIALOGUE WITH MINORITY ISSUES EXPERT

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this morning held a dialogue with the United Nations Expert on Minority Rights Gay McDougall during which she spoke about finding synergies between her mandate and the work of the Committee.

Ms. McDougall said that the last time she appeared before the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in August 2006, she had been encouraged that members had expressed interest in finding ways to collaborate with her mandate. She had raised a number of issues and areas of work that might offer some grounds for collaboration, including with regard to early warning procedures and indicators of possible conflict; supporting the Committee in its follow-up procedures via her own possibilities of communication in the context of country visits; and using the Committee's recommendations to strengthen consideration of minority issues. She also recalled that she could be of assistance to the Committee in issues relating to disaggregated data along racial, ethnic and religious lines, and expressed the opinion that they could work together to find ways to collaborate with a view to getting such data.

Ms. McDougall said she now had more experience as the Minority Rights Expert, and had found a number of specific areas that it might be worthwhile to focus on: the private sector; institutional racism; minorities in public education; State obligations to deal with prejudice against groups within civil society; relationships between concepts of race and religion; relationships between the Convention and minority rights and broader minority issues; and the obligation of States to create an enabling environment for language and culture, i.e., affirmative obligations of States in that regard.

When the Committee reconvenes in pubic at 4 p.m. this afternoon, it is scheduled to consider its early warning and urgent action procedures.