COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION OPENS EIGHTY-FOURTH SESSION

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination opened its eighty-fourth session this morning, hearing an address by Simon Walker, Chief of the Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Section at the Human Rights Treaty Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Committee elected a new Chairperson, three Vice-Chairpersons and a Rapporteur, and adopted its agenda and programme of work as proposed. The programme of work included the review of reports submitted by Honduras, Montenegro, Belgium, Poland, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg and Switzerland during the session.

In his opening statement, Simon Walker, Chief of the Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Section at the Human Rights Treaty Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, invoked the legacy of Nelson Mandela and said that the Committee played an essential role in speaking out against prejudice and racial discrimination around the world. He expressed hope that the General Assembly would be able to reach a comprehensive agreement on the strengthening of treaty bodies, which would go a long way in allowing all the Committees to fulfill their mandates effectively and efficiently. With regard to the outreach activities since the previous session, Mr. Walker noted that members of the Committee had been participating in a number of meetings where they had had the opportunity to brief others on pertinent issues, and in particular combatting racist hate speech.

Jose Francisco Cali Tzay was elected the Chairperson of the Committee, as the first indigenous person to hold that post. The Committee proceeded to elect Anastasia Crickley, Alexei Avtonomov and Amir Noureddine as Vice-Chairpersons, while Dilip Lahiri was elected as Rapporteur.

The Committee will next meet in public at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 4 February, when it will hold an informal meeting with non-governmental organizations. At 3 p.m. tomorrow, the Committee will start its consideration of the combined initial to fifth periodic report of Honduras (CERD/C/HND/1-5).

Opening Statement

SIMON WALKER, Chief of the Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Section at the Human Rights Treaty Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, welcomed the newly elected members of the Committee. He invoked the legacy of Nelson Mandela and said that the Committee played an essential role in speaking out against prejudice and racial discrimination around the world. The largest challenge remained in the implementation of the rights and obligations set out in the Convention, especially when it came to the contemporary forms of racism.

Mr. Walker addressed the issue of the treaty body strengthening process, on which a cost assessment had been finalized in November 2013, and had been subsequently shared with the Committee. The General Assembly was giving importance to issues such as additional meeting time and staff for the Committees, and it was the hope of the High Commissioner that the General Assembly would be able to reach a comprehensive agreement this month, which would go a long way in allowing all the Committees to fulfill their mandates effectively and efficiently.

Mr. Walker also spoke about the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, which would take place in New York on 22 and 23 September 2014, and should result in the adoption of a concise, action-oriented outcome document to realize the rights of indigenous peoples. He recalled that the sixth annual session of the Forum on Minority Issues had taken place in Geneva on 26 and 27 November with a focus on religious minorities, and the Working Group of Experts of People of African Descent had undertaken a visit to Brazil from 3 to 13 December 2013. In the annual report to the General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance had focused on the links between poverty and racism, underlining the obligation of Governments to prevent marginalization, and highlighting initiatives taken to prevent poverty and discrimination, such as programmes aimed at increasing educational opportunities.

With regard to the outreach activities since the previous session, Mr. Walker noted that members of the Committee had been participating in a number of meetings where they had had the opportunity to brief others on pertinent issues, and in particular combatting racist hate speech.

Speaking on the agenda of the Committee in the current session, Mr. Walker said that during the session, the Committee would convene an informal meeting with States parties, and would examine the implementation of the Convention in eight States parties, several countries under the follow-up procedure, an individual communication under article 14 of the Convention, and a number of country situations under the Committee’s early warning and urgent action procedure, as well as the adoption of the Committee’s annual report. He assured the Committee of the full support of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Election of Officers

Nine newly elected or re-elected members of the Committee undertook a solemn declaration under rule 14 of the rules of procedure. The Committee elected, by consensus, Jose Francisco Cali Tzay as the Chairperson of the Committee, and thanked the outgoing Chairperson, Alexei Avtonomov. Mr. Cali Tzay thanked the Committee Experts for their support and said that he belonged to an indigenous group in Guatemala, which was why his election carried a particular weight.

Chief Wilton Little Child, Chairperson of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, said that today had witnessed a significant first for the indigenous peoples and the United Nations, with the election of Mr. Cali Tzay as the Chairman of the Committee. Mr. Little Child said that Mr. Cali Tzay had worked very hard, living the dreams of the elders in a way that was consistent and implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. In a collective effort to eliminate racial discrimination, all groups had to work as partners, which should help improve the overall situation faster. The Chairperson was then presented with a blanket by the representatives of the International Indian Council, which was an expression of great honour in the Cree way.

Anastasia Crickley, Alexei Avtonomov and Amir Noureddine were elected Vice-Chairpersons, while Dilip Lahiri was elected as Rapporteur, also by consensus.

The Committee adopted the agenda and the programme of work as proposed.


For use of the information media; not an official record

CERD14/002E