COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION OPENS SIXTY-SEVENTH SESSION

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this morning opened its sixty-seventh session, hearing an address from the Chief of the Treaties and Commission Branch of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, following which it held a brief discussion on the reform of the treaty bodies. The amended programme of work of the session was also adopted during the meeting.

Addressing the Committee this morning was Maria-Francisca Ize-Charrin, Chief of the Treaties and Commission Branch of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, who said the dynamic and creative approach through which the Committee interpreted and developed the contents of the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination was a source of inspiration and great expectation. The High Commissioner saw the human rights treaty system as the cornerstone of the United Nations framework for human rights, and recognised the positive and successful impact of the treaty body system. The High Commissioner was very supportive of this work, and, in her Plan of Action for reform, saw the role of the seven treaty bodies in the development of proposals for a unified standing treaty body as pivotal.

The Committee Members then asked questions and made comments on various topics linked to the reform of the treaty body system, raising, among other points, the need to preserve the individuality of the current existing treaty bodies; the need to engage in dialogue with regard to the implementation of the proposals of the High Commissioner; whether it was necessary to expand or to streamline the system; the need to not adopt an attitude of self-defence in the debate, and rather to focus on the effective protection of human rights; and whether it was possible to reform the treaty bodies without reforming the treaties themselves.

Amendments in the programme of work included the General Debate on Multiculturalism, which was postponed from its planned date on Tuesday, 9 August, and replaced by a discussion on racism and racial discrimination. On the afternoon of Tuesday, 16 August, the Committee would continue the discussion on the reform of treaty bodies. On Wednesday, 17 August at 11 a.m., the General Debate on Multiculturalism would be held. On Thursday, 18 August at 10 a.m. a discussion with Ms. Ize-Charrin would be held on the topic of the proposed reforms.

The Committee will reconvene this afternoon at 3 p.m. when it will begin its consideration of the report of Venezuela (CERD/C/476/Add.4).

Statement by the Chief of the Treaties and Commission Branch of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

MARIA-FRANCISCA IZE-CHARRIN, Chief of the Treaties and Commission Branch, said there had been a number of developments since the session in February-March, including that one more State, Georgia, had made the declaration under article 14 of the Convention. Six States parties had also submitted their periodic reports since the end of the last session. The Office followed with particular interest the development of the jurisprudence under article 14, and hoped that the impact of the Committee’s jurisprudence at the regional and national levels would increase.

During the present session, the Committee would consider the reports of eight States parties, and the concluding observations on those reports would assist these countries in developing legislation, policies and programmes in the field of equality and combating racial discrimination, she said. At the same time, they would be of particular use in the formulation and implementation of strategic human rights country engagements for the Office, as well as for the United Nations Country Teams and other partners. It was also hoped that the follow-up procedure to the concluding observations recently established by the Committee would be productive.

The dynamic and creative approach through which the Committee interpreted and developed the contents of the Convention’s provisions was also for all a source of inspiration and great expectation, Ms. Ize-Charrin said. The High Commissioner saw the human rights treaty system as the cornerstone of the United Nations framework for human rights, and recognised the positive and successful impact of the treaty body system, but was also aware of the current challenges the system was facing. Action to meet these challenges had been ongoing for several years, and the High Commissioner was very supportive of this work, and, in her Plan of Action for reform, saw the role of the seven treaty bodies in the development of proposals for a unified standing treaty body as pivotal.

Discussion

Following the address by Ms. Ize-Charrin, the Chairperson of the Committee, Mario Jorge Yutzis, said the Committee was very much aware of information on things that had been happening between the last session and the current one, including some issues connected to methodology that had come to light.

Members of the Committee then made comments and asked questions of Ms. Ize-Charrin on various topics, including procedural matters; the apparent lack of awareness in other parts of the United Nations of the work of the treaty bodies and its outcome and the need to engage with those other parts, as this would strengthen the work done; the need to preserve the individuality of the current existing treaty bodies; the implementation of the proposals of the High Commissioner for reform and the need to engage in dialogue in regard to this implementation; the need to concentrate on the treaty body system as a whole in the context of the discussions; whether it was necessary to expand or to streamline the system; the backlog of communications and the potential this would have for clogging a single treaty body; the need to not adopt an attitude of self-defence in the debate, and rather to focus on the effective protection of human rights; whether it was possible to reform the treaty bodies without reforming the treaties themselves; and why the idea of one treaty body had taken such an important place, as the complementarity of the existing bodies was a virtue.

Responding to these questions and issues, Ms. Ize-Charrin said budgetary issues were becoming more and more important in the United Nations momentum. Regarding the aim of the reforms, this was to strengthen the system, and the Experts were expected to help prepare a catalogue of key issues on which focus should be made, and this would include implementation. The lack of knowledge of the work of the treaty bodies was a profound concern. The response to this was training, as had already been held in several cases, with effective results. Regarding the Human Rights Council, it would be useful to read the last draft on this topic prepared by Ambassador Ping, Chairperson of the General Assembly.

With regards to the fundamental issue on the thinking behind the unified standing body, it was clearly impossible to summarise this, but the concern of having more impact on the national level, of having more knowledge of the ground, and that States parties fulfilled their reporting obligations, all these and others were behind the move towards this idea. Regarding strengthening the dialogue with State parties in order to facilitate the acceptance and implementation of recommendations, the Human Rights Council would contain the idea of a peer review, with the basic idea of not continuing to finger-point, which would strengthen the concept of peer review. The next few months would allow a review of questions and concerns with the goal of finding answers. There appeared to be a broad agreement that there was a need to find a way to avoid the need to revise the treaties. A permanent body, meeting the whole year, according to a methodology to be determined would be a good idea.

It was a special time at the United Nations, and the momentum should be used now, Ms. Ize-Charrin said. Changes would happen, and the High Commissioner’s Plan of Action and the existing momentum should be used in order to achieve improvements in the important context of being more effective at the national level. The reflections of the Committee would be welcomed, as it was by listening that these complex issues would be resolved, she concluded.

A further discussion on the topic of the reform of the treaty bodies will be held later in the session, at which time a general definition will be aimed for regarding what the Committee considers to be the basic requirements for the reform of the treaty bodies, the Chairperson said.

Amendments in the programme of work included the General Debate on Multiculturalism, which was postponed from its planned date on Tuesday 9 August, and replaced by a discussion on racism and racial discrimination. On the afternoon of Tuesday 16 August, the Committee would continue the discussion on the reform of treaty bodies. On Wednesday 17 August at 11 a.m., the General Debate on Multiculturalism would be held. On Thursday 18 August at 10 a.m. a discussion with Ms. Ize-Charrin would be held on the topic of the proposed reforms.

For use of the information media; not an official record

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