COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CONCLUDES EIGHTY-FIRST SESSION

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination today concluded its eighty-first session after adopting its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Ecuador, Tajikistan, Thailand, Senegal, Fiji, Republic of Korea, Austria, Finland and Liechtenstein on how these countries are implementing the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The Committee also adopted concluding observations and recommendations on the situation in Belize, which it considered in the absence of a report.

The concluding observations and recommendations will be available at the end of the day on Monday, 3 September at the following link.

At the beginning of the session, the Committee heard an opening statement by Ibrahim Salama, Director of the Human Rights Treaties Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, who among other things welcomed the thematic discussion planned by the Committee on racist hate speech, which was considered timely by the High Commissioner for Human Rights. In addition to its consideration of country reports, the Committee also met with non-governmental organizations, reviewed individual complaints, and held a discussion with the President of the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights.

On 28 August, the Committee held a thematic discussion on racist hate speech in which it held three panel discussions on the concept of racist hate speech and its evolution over time, on racist hate speech in political life and in the media, including the Internet, and on racist hate speech and freedom of opinion and expression. The work of the Committee in combating racist hate speech was also discussed.

The next session of the Committee will be held from 11 February to 1 March 2013 during which it will review the situation in Algeria, Dominican Republic, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritius, New Zealand, Russian Federation and Slovakia.



For use of the information media; not an official record

CRD12/032E