COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATIONOF RACIAL DISCRIMINATIONSeventy- third sessionGeneva, 28 July – 15 August 2008

PROVISIONAL AGENDA AND ANNOTATIONS

Note by the Secretary‑General

1.The seventy-thirdsession of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination will be held at the United Nations Office in Geneva from 28 July to 15 August 2008. The first meeting of the session will be convened at 10 a.m. on Monday 28 July 2008.

2.The present document contains the provisional agenda for the session, prepared by the Secretary‑General in consultation with the Chairman of the Committee in accordance with rule 6 of the rules of procedure, together with annotations relating thereto.

3.The attention of States parties is drawn, in particular, to the annotations to item 4 and to the annex which contains a tentative timetable for the consideration of reports and further information submitted by States parties and for the consideration of States parties whose reports are seriously overdue, pursuant to the review procedure.

4.In accordance with rule 64 of the rules of procedure, the representatives of the States parties are invited to be present at the meetings of the Committee when their reports are examined.

GE.08-42676

PROVISIONAL AGENDA

1.Adoption of the agenda.

2.Organizational and other matters.

3.Prevention of racial discrimination, including early warning measures and urgent action procedures.

4.Consideration of reports, comments and information submitted by States parties under article 9 of the Convention.

5.Submission of reports by States parties under article 9, paragraph 1, of the Convention.

6.Follow-up procedure.

7 Follow-up to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.

8Consideration of copies of petitions, copies of reports and other information relating to Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories and to all other territories in which General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) applies, in conformity with article 15 of the Convention.

9. Report of the Committee to the General Assembly at its sixty-third session.

ANNOTATIONS TO THE PROVISIONAL AGENDA

1.Adoption of the agenda

Under rule 8 of the rules of procedure, the first item on the provisional agenda of any session shall be the adoption of the agenda, except for the election of the officers when required under rule 15. In accordance with rule 9, the Committee may revise the agenda during a session and may, as appropriate, add, defer, or delete items.

2.Organizational and other matters

Under this item, the Committee will consider its programme of work for the seventy-third session. It will also hold a thematic discussion on the subject of special measures within the meaning of articles 1, paragraph 4, and 2, paragraph 2, of the Convention, with a view to elaborating a general recommendation. Furthermore, it will continue reviewing its working methods.

Prevention of racial discrimination, including early warning measures

and urgent action procedures

The Committee decided at its forty-fifth session to establish this as one of its regular and principal agenda items. Within the framework of its efforts to prevent racial discrimination, the Committee may decide to take early warning measures aimed at preventing existing problems from escalating into conflicts or it may decide to initiate urgent action procedures aimed at responding to problems requiring immediate attention to prevent or limit the scale or number of serious violations of the Convention. The Committee may also take action or further action regarding States parties already considered under this item.

Furthermore, the Committee may, at its discretion, schedule the consideration of the situation in some States parties at short notice.

4.Consideration of reports, comments and information submitted by States parties under article 9 of the Convention

At its seventy- third session, the Committee will consider initial and periodic reports received from the following States parties: Austria, Ecuador, Germany, Namibia, Russian Federation, Sweden, Switzerland and Togo. It will also undertake a review of the implementation of the Convention in the following States parties for which periodic reports are seriously overdue: Belize, Chile, Peru and Philippines.

In pursuance of established practice and in conformity with rule 64 of the rules of procedure, the Secretary-General has informed the States parties concerned of the tentative dates on which their reports are scheduled for consideration by the Committee. The scheduling of the

Committee’s consideration of reports submitted and review of the implementation of the Convention in the States parties whose reports are excessively overdue is set forth in the timetable below.

Submission of reports by States parties under article 9, paragraph 1, of the Convention

At its seventy-thirdsession, the Committee will have before it a note by the Secretary‑General concerning the status of submission of reports by States parties in accordance with article 9 of the Convention (CERD/C/73/2). Part A of that document indicates reports received from States parties and pending consideration by the Committee. Part B of the document contains information relating to overdue reports.

6. Follow-up procedure

In accordance with the provisions of article 65 of its rules of procedure, the Committee will consider under this item follow-up by States parties to the observations and recommendations of the Committee.

7. Follow-up to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance

The Secretariat will brief the Committee on follow-up activities to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.

8. Consideration of copies of petitions, copies of reports and other information relating to Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories and to all other territories in which General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) applies, in conformity with article 15 of the Convention.

Under this item, the Committee will have before it a note by the Secretary-General (CERD/C/73/3) concerning article 15 of the Convention and listing, as appropriate, copies of petitions, reports and working papers relating to the Trusteeship Council and the Special Committee on the Situation with Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.

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9. Report of the Committee to the General Assembly at its sixty-third session.

Annex

Tentative timetable for consideration of reports, comments and further information submitted by statEs parties and for consideration of StatEs parties whose reports are seriously overdue pursuant to the review procedure

The following timetable has been drawn up by the Secretary-General, in consultation with the Chairman, taking into account the relevant decisions taken by the Committee at its seventy-second session.

Monday, 28 July 2008		(1875th and 1876th meetings)
a.m.		Dialogue with other United Nations bodies, specialized agencies and other competent bodies
p.m.		Periodic reports due on 4 January 2006, submitted in one document (CERD/C/ECU/19)
Tuesday, 29 July 2008		(1877th and 1878th meetings)
a.m.	Ecuador	(continued)
p.m.	Namibia	Eighth to twelfth periodic reports due from 11September 1997 to 2005, submitted in onedocument (CERD/C/NAM/12)
Wednesday, 30 July 2008		(1879th and 1880th meetings)
a.m.	Namibia	(continued)
p.m.	Togo	Sixth to seventeenth periodic reports due from 1October 1983 to 2005, submitted in onedocument (CERD/C/TGO/17)
Thursday, 31 July 2008		(1881st and 1882nd meetings)
a.m.	Togo	(continued)
p.m.	Russian Federation	Eighteenth and nineteenth periodic reports due on 6 March 2006, submitted in one document (CERD/C/RUS/19)
Monday, 4August 2008		(1883rd and 1884th meetings)
a.m.	Russian Federation	(continued)
p.m.		Thematic discussion on special measures within the meaning of articles 1, paragraph 4, and 2, paragraph1, of the Convention
Tuesday, 5August 2008		(1885th and 1886th meetings)
a.m.		Thematic discussion (continued)
p.m.	Germany	Sixteenth to eighteenth periodic reports, due on 15 June 2004, submitted in one document (CERD/C/DEU/18)
Wednesday, 6 August 2008		(1887th and 1888th meetings)
a.m.	Germany	(continued)
p.m.		Belize a
		Chile a
		Peru a
		Philippines a
Thursday,7 August 2008		(1890th meeting)
p.m.	Austria	Fifteenth to seventeenth periodic reports due from 8 June 2003 to 2005, , submitted in one document (CERD/C/AUT/17)
Friday, 8 August 2008		(1891st and 1892nd meetings)
a.m.	Austria	(continued)
p.m.	Switzerland	Fourth to sixth periodic reports due from 29December 2003 to 2005, submitted in onedocument (CERD/C/CHE/6)
Monday, 11 August 2008		(1893rd and 1894th meetings)
a.m.	Switzerland	(continued)
p.m.	Sweden	Seventeenth and eighteenth periodic reports due on January 2007, submitted in onedocument (CERD/C/SWE/18)
Tuesday, 12 August 2008		(1895th meeting)
a.m.	Sweden	(continued)
Wednesday, 13 August 2008		(1897th meeting)
a.m.		Early warning measures and urgent action procedure; Follow-up procedure

a. Review procedure (for States parties whose reports are seriously overdue).

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