Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Ninety-eighth session
Summary record ( p artial )* of the 2710th meeting
Held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, on Tuesday, 23 April 2019, at 10 a.m.
Chair:Mr. Amir
Contents
Opening of the session
Adoption of the agenda
The meeting was called to order at 10.20 a.m.
Opening of the session
1.The Chair declared open the ninety-eighth session of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
2.Ms. Andrijasevic-Boko (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights) said that, in the light of emerging global challenges, the work of the Committee was more important than ever. On the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which had been commemorated one month earlier by the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly under the theme of “Mitigating and countering rising nationalist populism and extreme supremacist ideologies”, the High Commissioner for Human Rights had recalled that the Convention encouraged firm legislation to prevent the dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority or racial hatred and had called on States to openly condemn the dissemination of such ideas.
3.Informing the Committee of developments since its previous session, she encouraged the Committee to continue its discussions on the 2020 review of the treaty body system that was scheduled to take place by April 2020. The Committee’s focal points for the review had participated in a meeting on the topic in Copenhagen in February 2019, and the upcoming thirty-first annual meeting of the Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies would be the last formal opportunity to hold inclusive discussions prior to the review. The secretariat of the meeting of the Chairs stood ready to provide support in that regard and had created a dedicated extranet page to provide information and background documents. Numerous stakeholders were keen to exchange views with the Committee on the matter.
4.The General Assembly, in resolution 73/162, had requested that the Secretary-General should submit the next biennial report on the status of the treaty body system in January 2020, in advance of the review. The report would therefore need to be finalized by September 2019 and its outline developed by the end of June 2019. In addition, a note verbale had requested input from States and other stakeholders on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 68/268 and on the 2020 review, which was due by the extended deadline of 30 April 2019.
5.The Secretary-General’s report on the status of the treaty body system would highlight lessons learned from the implementation of resolution 68/268 and address procedures and activities that had not been adequately funded or included in the funding formula, including communications, follow-up, the early warning and urgent action procedure, and inter-State communications. The outcome of the reporting process should help the treaty body system to function effectively and make a difference at the national level, and the 2020 review was therefore particularly relevant to ensuring the sustainability and meaningful impact of the work of the treaty bodies.
6.It should be noted, however, that the treaty bodies were operating in a challenging environment that required creativity and resourcefulness. She encouraged the Committee to continue the review of its working methods with a view to implementing resolution 68/268 and the conclusions and resolutions of the thirtieth annual meeting of the Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies, taking into account the harmonization of the treaty body system as a whole.
7.The protection of persons from racial discrimination was a priority for the Office, and the efforts being made to achieve results in that field included capacity-building to help States comply with their reporting obligations under the Convention. That work had contributed to the submission of periodic reports by the Niger and Senegal, and it was hoped that Benin and Fiji would soon follow suit. Capacity-building in Angola was ongoing. Support had also been provided for the elaboration of a general recommendation on racial profiling. Since the previous session, the Marshall Islands had acceded to the Convention, bringing the total number of States parties to 179.
8.In keeping with the Committee’s tradition of sharing experience and good practice with other bodies that had mandates related to racial discrimination, it would meet with the Group of independent eminent experts on the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action during the present session. Collaboration between the Committee and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples with respect to the Expert Mechanism’s new country engagement mandate was appreciated, as was the Committee’s developing practice of proposing that States parties should consider assistance from the Expert Mechanism in implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Expert Mechanism would continue to support follow-up to the Committee’s concluding observations during its country missions.
9.Noting the resignation of Mr. Marugán from the Committee, she expressed appreciation for his contribution to its work. The Government of Spain had appointed Ms. Verdugo Moreno to serve the remainder of Mr. Marugán’s term, which would expire on 19 January 2020.
Adoption of the agenda ( CERD/C/98/1 )
10. The agenda was adopted.
The discussion covered in the summary record ended at 10.35 a.m.