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

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination today opened its eighty-ninth session, hearing an address by Ibrahim Salama, Director of the Human Rights Treaties Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and electing a new Chairperson and Bureau. The Committee also adopted its provisional agenda for the session, during which it will review anti-discrimination efforts undertaken by Spain, Oman, Rwanda, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Namibia.
Mr. Salama, in his opening remarks, congratulated the Committee for having seven women members, which brought the representation of women to 40 per cent. This leap towards greater gender parity was the result in part of the sustained efforts by the Chairs of the Committee who had continuously raised the need for gender parity in their statements to the General Assembly and with States parties. The fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, as well as the fifteenth anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action were milestones offering an opportunity to take stock of progress made and to contemplate what remained to be done to eliminate racial discrimination.

Continuing, Mr. Salama said that since the Committee’s last session in December 2015, the topic of racial discrimination had been raised during several crucial interventions by the High Commissioner, the Deputy High Commissioner and the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, including during the last session of the Human Rights Council and of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent. The recently adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development placed the struggle against inequalities, discrimination and exclusion at its heart, in particular in Goal 10.3 on reducing inequality within and among countries. The treaty bodies had an unprecedented opportunity to bring human rights to the front and centre of sustainable development issues, particularly in the Agenda’s new focus on accountability. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was currently developing a strategy on the Agenda’s implementation, which sought to strengthen the role of human rights mechanisms in ensuring duty-bearers’ accountability for the Goals.

Mr. Salama then recalled that General Assembly resolution 68/268 on strengthening and enhancing the effective functioning of the human rights treaty body system required States to consider the state of the treaty body system in 2020. He also recalled that Norway and Switzerland had convened a meeting of States, independent experts and treaty body members in January 2015, where the concept of an independent study to explore options for this review had emerged. Costa Rica had also called for a worldwide academic process to reflect on the future of the treaty body system. Following this call, the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights had invited a small group of independent researchers decide on the parameters for an academic research project that would look at future options for reform.

Simon Walker, Chief of the Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Section of Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, invited Alexei Avtonomov, Jose Francisco Cali Tzay, Nicolás Marugán, Fatimata-Binta Victoire Dah, Gay Mcdougall, Yemhelhe Mint Mohamed, Pastor Elias Murillo Martinez, Verene Albertha Shepherd and Yanduan Li to make a solemn declaration as newly elected Members of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Experts then elected by acclamation and consensus Anastasia Crickley as Chairperson of the Committee. Speaking after her nomination, Ms. Crickley said she was greatly honoured by her election, which took place at a difficult time for the state of equality worldwide. As a woman, she encouraged the Committee to look at the correlations between women’s oppression and racial discrimination. She noted that the Committee was composed by Members from different cultural backgrounds and with different views. She also noted the importance for the Committee to cooperate with other United Nations entities working on racial discrimination issues, as well as with civil society organizations.

Several Experts took the floor to congratulate Ms. Crickley for her election.

Melhem Khalaf, Jose Francisco Cali Tzay and Noureddine Amir were nominated as Vice-Chairpersons, and Alexei Avtonomov was nominated as Committee Rapporteur, also by acclamation.

The Committee adopted the provisional agenda for its eighty-ninth session.

More information on this session can be read in the background press release.

The Committee will next meet in public on Tuesday, 26 April at 10 a.m. to hold an informal briefing with non-governmental organizations.



For use of the information media; not an official record

CERD16/002E