COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION ADOPTS REVISED DRAFT GUIDELINES FOR COMMITTEE-SPECIFIC REPORTS

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this morning adopted revised draft guidelines for the submission of specific reports presented by States parties under article 9 of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, as orally amended in discussions with Committee Experts.

The Committee had decided to replace its previous reporting guidelines (CERD/C/70/Rev.5), adopted in 2000, with the present document, in order to take into consideration the guidelines on a common core document and treaty-specific documents, as contained in the harmonized guidelines on reporting under the international human rights treaties (HRI/MC/2006/3 and Corr.1), as well as to take into account the evolving practice and interpretation of the Convention by the Committee, as reflected in its general recommendations, individual opinions under article 14 of the Convention (complaints brought by individuals of infringement of their rights), decisions and concluding observations.

Before proceeding to the formal adoption of the text, the Committee completed its paragraph-by-paragraph reading, in particular agreeing paragraphs as to information to be furnished by States parties relating to article 7 of the Convention, which calls for States to adopt measures to combat prejudice leading to racial discrimination and to promote understanding and tolerance.

In that regard, the text underscored that reports presented by States parties should contain information on steps taken to include in textbooks, at all appropriate levels, chapters about the history and culture of groups protected under the Convention and living on the State's territory. For a summary of other parts of the revised guidelines, as adopted in previous meetings, see the press releases contained in documents CERD/07/25 and CERD/07/27.

When the Committee next reconvenes in public, at 3 p.m. on Friday, 17 August, it is scheduled to adopt its annual report and to make public its concluding observations on the reports considered at its seventy-first session, before officially closing the work of the session.