Meeting of States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

Twenty-seventh meeting

New York, 22 June 2017

Item 5 of the provisional agenda

Election, in accordance with article 8, paragraphs 1 to 5, of the Convention, of nine members of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to replace those whose terms of office will expire on 19 January 2018

Election of nine members of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to replace thosewhose terms of office will expire on 19 January 2018

Note by the Secretary-General

1.In accordance with article 8 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the twenty-seventh meeting of the States parties to the Convention is to be held at United Nations Headquarters on 22 June 2017 for the purpose of electing nine members of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination from a list of candidates nominated by States parties (sect. II), to replace those whose terms will expire on 19 January 2018 (sect. I). Nine members will continue to serve on the Committee until 19 January 2020 (sect. III).

I.Members of the Committee whose terms expire on19 January 2018

Name of member	Country of nationality
Mr. Noureddine Amir	Algeria
Mr. Marc Bossuyt	Belgium
Ms. Anastasia Crickley	Ireland
Ms. Afiwa-Kindena Hohoueto	Togo
Mr. Anwar Kemal	Pakistan
Mr. Melhem Khalaf	Lebanon
Mr. Gün Kut	Turkey
Mr. Jose A. Lind gren Alves	Brazil
Mr. Yeung Kam John Yeung Sik Yuen	Mauritius

II.Candidates nominated by States parties

2.In accordance with article 8 (3) of the Convention, the Secretary-General, in a note verbale dated 15 December 2016, invited States parties to submit, within two months, their nominations for the election of nine members to the Committee. All curricula vitae received by 6 April 2017 are included in the present document (see annex).

3.Listed below, in alphabetical order, are the names of the persons nominated for election to the Committee, and the States parties that nominated them.

Name of candidate	Nominated by
Mr. Silvio José Albuquerque e Silva	Brazil
Mr. Mohammed Turki Abbas al-Obaidi	Iraq
Mr. Noureddine Amir	Algeria
Mr. Marc Bossuyt	Belgium
Ms. Chinsung Chung	Republic of Korea
Mr. Bakari Sidiki Diaby	Côte d’Ivoire
Mr. Kokou Mawuena Ika Kana Ewomsan	Togo
Mr. Ricardo Ulcuango Farinango	Ecuador
Mr. Abdi Ismaël Hersi	Djibouti
Mr. Johannes Nicolaas Horn	Namibia
Ms. Rita Izsák-Ndiaye	Hungary
Ms. Keiko Ko	Japan
Mr. Gün Kut	Turkey
Mr. Yeung Kam John Yeung Sik Yuen	Mauritius

III.Members of the Committee whose terms expire on19 January 2020

Name of member	Country of nationality
Mr. Alexei Avtonomov	Russian Federation
Mr. José Francisco Calí Tzay	Guatemala
Ms. Fatimata-Binta Victoire Dah	Burkina Faso
Mr. Nicolás Marugán	Spain
Ms. Gay McDougall	United States of America
Ms. Yemhelhe Mint Mohamed	Mauritania
Mr. Pastor Elias Murillo Martínez	Colombia
Ms. Verene Albertha Shepherd	Jamaica
Ms. Li Yanduan	China

Annex

Curricula vitae *

Silvio José Albuquerque e Silva (Brazil)

Date and place of birth: 9 October 1961, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro.

Working languages: Portuguese, English, French and Spanish.

Current position/function

Deputy Special Secretary for Human Rights, Ministry of Human Rights.

Main professional activities

Diplomat, Ambassador, Deputy Special Secretary for Human Rights of Brazil.

Educational background

Master of International Politics at Université Libre de Bruxelles with a dissertation on “The Globalization of the International Protection of Human Rights in Latin America, with a special emphasis on Brazil”, 1996.

Graduate of the Law School at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, 1985.

Graduate of the Diplomatic Academy of the Brazilian Ministry of External Relations (Instituto Rio Branco), 1987.

Graduate of the Higher Studies Course at Instituto Rio Branco with a dissertation on “The World Conference of Durban and the Brazilian Foreign Policy”, 2007.

Other main activities in the field relevant to the mandate of the treaty body concerned

Delegate to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, Durban, 2001.

Chair of the Working Group of the Organization of American States in charge of drafting and negotiating the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance, 2004-2006.

Delegate to the annual conferences of the International Labour Organization and the World Health Organization, 2008-2012.

Co-Chair of the Joint Working Group in charge of the implementation of Convention 169 of the International Labour Organization in regard to previous and informed consultation of indigenous people, Brazil 2010-2011.

Chief of Staff of the Chief Justice of Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court, 2012-2014.

Chief of Staff of Brazil’s Minister of Defense, 2015.

Chair of the Ministerial Commission for the Promotion of Gender Equality at the Ministry of Defense of Brazil, 2015.

Member of the Committee on the Promotion of Affirmative Action for the Access of People of African Descent to the Diplomatic Foreign Service, Ministry of External Relations, 2009-2015.

Member of the Review Commission of the Brazilian Diplomatic Academy’s public selection process for access to the Diplomatic Foreign Service. Implementation of Brazil’s Affirmative Action Legislation that strengthens the access of people of African descent to the Diplomatic Service, 2016.

Member of the National Human Rights Council, 2016.

Deputy Special Secretary for Human Rights of Brazil, 2016.

List of most recent publications in the field

“The United Nations and the International Fight Against Racism”. Fundação Alexandre de Gusmão. Second Edition, 2011.

“Brazil and the International Year of the People of African Descent”, in Desafios do Desenvolvimento. Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA) Magazine. December, 2011.

“Previous Consultation and the Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the International Labour Organization”. Editora Thesaurus and Fundação Alexandre de Gusmão, 2012.

“The Ministry of External Relations and the International Year of the People of African Descent: a look at the external speech on racial issues”, in Igualdade Racial no Brazil. IPEA, 2013.

Mohammed Turki Abbas al-Obaidi (Iraq)

Date and place of birth: 28 November 1971, Baghdad, Iraq.

Working languages: Arabic and English.

Current position/function

D.D. General, Legal Dept, Ministry of Human Rights, 2009-2016.

Human rights expert, international HR System and Mechanisms.

Deputy D. General, Human Rights Monitoring Department, Ministry of Human Rights, 2008-2009.

H R Trainer, National H. R. Center, Ministry of Human Rights.

HEAD of Human Rights Treaty Reports, 2016-present.

Main professional activities

Participation in the United Nations Human Rights Committee — 60th and 61st sessions at 2004-2005/ and 3rd session of the Human Rights Council — 9/2006, 2009, 2012, Geneva, Switzerland.

Representative of Iraq in the legal experts committee of the Arab League, 2004.

Representative of the Ministry of Human Rights in the committee responsible about the inclusion of Iraq to the international conventions related to human rights and humanitarian law in the ministry of foreign affairs, ongoing.

Participation of providing legal advises in the Ministry of Human Rights.

Lecturer who gives lectures in human rights issues in the Ministry and outside the Ministry with NGOs.

Seminar on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Istanbul, Turkey 2008.

Participating in training course concerning with human rights for woman in MENA region, Lund, Sweden, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, 28/11/2006- 8/12/2006.

Training course on human rights and the United Nations system, University of Sydney and New South Wales University, Australia, 2007.

Training course in the Judicial Institute for three months, Baghdad, 2001.

Educational background

Bachelor of Law, 1992-1993.

Master on International Law 1997.

PhD on International Law.

Diploma in HR of women in MENA region, Lund University, Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights, Sweden, 2007.

Diploma in human rights training (training of trainer), Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights, 2012 (Master trainer).

Other main activities in the field relevant to the mandate of the treaty body concerned

Vice-Chairperson of the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances, 2010-2014.

Committee on Enforced Disappearances member, ongoing.

List of most recent publications in the field.

Study in human rights of persons with disabilities, 2006.

Study in international system of human rights compliances against human rights violations, 2006.

Study in private security companies and their impact on full enjoyments of human rights — Iraqi case, 2007.

Study about trafficking in persons, 2008.

Study in human rights violations and crimes committed in Iraq during 1968-2003, 2012.

The protection of the marine environment from oil pollution case study of Iraq during the Second Gulf War, Baghdad University, College of Law, 2005.

The legal system for Special Missions, Nahrain University, College of Law, 1997.

The establishment of the national committee for international humanitarian law, Nahrain University, 2010.

Study on the legal adjustment of the crime of terrorism as a crime against humanity and its impact on the adjustment of the rights of victims, 2013.

Implementation of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance at the Iraqi national system, 2014.

Volunteer Professor with the Iraqi Universities.

Noureddine Amir (Algeria)

Date and place of birth: 5 December 1940, Tunis.

Working languages: Arabic, French, English and Spanish.

Current position/function

Professor in Political Sciences.

Seminars, Workshops, Conferences.

Vice-President of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Main professional activities

Career Diplomacy.

Consul general of Algeria and Dean of the consular corps in Strasbourg.

Professor of Law, University of Algiers.

Professor at the Administrative National School, in charge of the teaching of the African Students.

Educational background

Propaedeutic.

Urban and Rural Sociology Degree (Licence).

DEA of the 3rd Cycle in Political Sciences — Paris I — Sorbonne.

DEA of the 3rd Cycle in Defense Policies — Paris I — Sorbonne.

PhD in Political Sciences — Paris I — Sorbonne.

Other main activities in the field relevant to the mandate of the treaty body concerned

Expert of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Vice-President of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Coordinator for the follow up of the recommendations of the Committee.

Representative of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination before the inter-committee group on human rights system treaty body.

Seminars and Conferences on human rights (Cairo, Doha, Luxembourg, Ottawa, Beijing, Algiers).

List of most recent publications in the field

Sécurité internationale et toutes les formes de discriminations raciales.

Pratique de la politique de suivi des recommandations du CERD.

Discriminations et la haine religieuse, leur impact dans les relations international.

Marc Bossuyt (Belgium)

Date and place of birth: 9 January 1944, Ghent.

Working languages: Dutch, French and English.

Current position/function

Member of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (since 2014).

Fellow at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, South Africa, (2014 and 2016).

Past professional activities

Judge (1997-2007) and (Emeritus) President (2007-2014) of the Constitutional Court of Belgium.

(Honorary) Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (1987-1997).

(Emeritus) Professor of International Law, University of Antwerp (1977-2007).

Human Rights Officer of the United Nations Division of Human Rights at Geneva (1975-1977).

Educational background

Honorary Diploma, University of Burundi (2013); Doctor honoris causa, University of Hasselt (2011).

Docteur ès sciences politiques, University of Geneva (IUHEI) (1976); Doctor of Laws, University of Ghent (1968).

Diploma of International Law and Comparative Law of Human Rights of the International Institute of Human Rights, Strasbourg (1972); Certificate of International Relations, Bologna Centre of the School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University (1969).

Other main activities in the field relevant to the mandate of the treaty body concerned

Member of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (2000-2003; 2014-2017).

Member (1981-1985; 1992-1999; 2004-2006), Rapporteur (1992; 1997), Vice-Chairman (1983, 1999, 2005) and Chairman (2006) of the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights; Special Rapporteur of the Sub-Commission on a Mission to Mauritania (E/CN/Sub.2/E/CN.4/Sub.2/1984/23), on the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the Death Penalty (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1987/20); on Adverse Consequences of Economic Sanctions (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2000/33), on the concept of Affirmative Action (E/CN/Sub.2/2002/21) and on Non-discrimination in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/19).

Chairman/Rapporteur of the Working Group on the Declaration of the World Conference on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (Durban, 2001).

Representative of Belgium (1986-1991), Vice-Chairman (1986) and Chairman (1989) of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

List of most recent publications in the field

International Human Rights Protection: Balanced, Critical, Realistic, Antwerp, Intersentia, 2016, 231 p.

“Categorical Rights and Vulnerable Groups: Moving Away from the Universal Human Being”, The George Washington International Law Review, 2016, pp. 717-742.

“The European Union Confronted with an Asylum Crisis in the Mediterranean: Reflections on Refugees and Human Rights Issues”, European Journal of Human Rights, 2015/5, pp. 581-605.

“Perspectives extérieures sur le développement des libertés publiques et des droits de l’homme au Burundi”, in J-M. Barambona e.a., L’Etat du Burundi après 50 ans d’indépendance, Brussels, Bruylant, 2015, pp. 327-333.

“Nationalité et minorités en droit international”, in S.F.D.I., Droit international et nationalité (Colloque de Poitiers), Paris, Pedone, 2012, pp. 145-163.

Chinsung Chung (Republic of Korea)

Date and place of birth: 28 July 1953, Seoul, Korea.

Working languages: English, Korean and Japanese.

Current position/function

Professor, Department of Sociology, Seoul National University.

Member of Board of Trustee, IOM Migration Research & Training Center.

Co-President, Korea Center for United Nations Human Rights Policy.

Member, Public Official Ethics Committee, Supreme Court of Korea.

Member, Advisory Committee, Constitutional Court of Korea.

Member, Advisory Committee for Foreign Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Main Professional Activities

Member, Presidential Committee for National Cohesion (2013-2014).

President, Korean Sociological Association (2013).

Member, Advisory Committee for Women’s Policies, Ministry of Gender Equality (2012-2013).

President, Korean Association of Women’s Studies (2012).

Chair, Advisory Committee for Women and Children Policies, Ministry of Justice (2010-2011).

President, Women Faculty Council, Seoul National University (2009-2010).

Member, Presidential Committee on Social Cohesion (2009-2010).

Director, Institute for Social Development and Policy Research, Seoul National University (2007-2009).

Director, Institute of Gender Research, Seoul National University (2004-2006).

Member, Gender Equality Committee, Asia Institute of Technology, Thailand (2002-2008).

Fellow, Asian Leadership Fellow Program, International House of Japan (2003).

Advisor, Nokeunri Victims During Korean War Organization, Office of Policy Coordination, Prime Minister’s Office (1999-2000).

Member, Korea-Japan Joint History Research Committee (2007-2010).

Awards

Service to Society Award, Seoul National University, (2016).

Women Leader Award (by Samsung), (2014).

Presidential Order: “Order of Service Merit Red Stripes” (Human Rights Award of Korea), (2013).

Academic background

Visiting Professor, Kyushu University, Japan (2016).

Visiting Professor, Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo (2003).

Visiting Scholar, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University (2002-2003).

Visiting Scholar, Department of Sociology, University of Bristol, England (1996).

The University of Chicago, USA (Ph.D. in Sociology) (1978-1984).

Graduate School of Sociology, Seoul National University (MA) (1976-1978).

Department of Sociology, Seoul National University (BA) (1972-1976).

Other main activities in the field relevant to the mandate of the treaty body concerned

Director, Human Rights Center, Seoul National University (2012-2015).

Chair, Committee for Students’ Human Rights, Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (2014-2016).

Member, United Nations Working Group on Communication (2012-2013).

Vice-President, United Nations Human Rights Council Advisory Committee (2009-2010).

Member, United Nations Human Rights Council Advisory Committee (2008-2013).

Vice-President, United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (2006-2007).

Special Rapporteur on “Discrimination based on Work and Descent” at the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (2005-2007).

Member, United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (2004-2007).

Alternate Member, United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (2000-2004).

Member of Korean preparatory committee, Vienna World Conference on Human Rights (1993).

List of main publications

United Nations Reports

“Study of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee on promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms through a better understanding of traditional values of humankind” (A/HRC/22/71) (writing as a Rapporteur), (2012).

“The necessity of a human rights approach and effective United Nations mechanism for the human rights of the older persons” UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee Working Paper, (2010).

“Integrating the human rights of women throughout the United Nations system” Draft Guidelines on methods to operationalize gender mainstreaming, including action-oriented mechanisms, Prepared by Ms. Chinsung Chung, Ms. Mona Zulficar, Ms. Purificacion V. Quisumbing, Mr. Ansar Ahmed Burney and Mr. Shigeki Sakamoto, (2009).

“Discrimination based on Work and Descent” Final Report of Yozo Yokota and Chin-sung Chung, Special Rappporteurs on the Topic of Discrimination based on Work and Descent, (2009).

“The Challenges of Women’s Participation in Policies and Strategies to Combat Poverty and Extreme Poverty,” Working paper submitted to the United Nations, Human Rights Council, Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, The Social Forum, (2006).

“Bilateral and Multilateral Economic Agreements and Their Impact on Human Rights of the Beneficiaries,” Working paper submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (with Florizelle O’Connor)., (2006).

“Discrimination Based on Work and Descent,” Progress report submitted to the United Nations, Human Rights Council, Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (with Yozo Yokota), (2006).

Other relevant publications (English only since 2007)

“Social Attitudes to Cross-Border Marriages in Korea and Taiwan” Development and Society 45(2), 327-352 (Chinsung Chung & Keuntae Kim), (2016).

“Marriage migration in Southeast and East Asia revisited through a migration-development nexus lens” Critical Asian Studies. Vol.48-Issue 4: Rethinking Marriage Migration in Asia: Development, Gender and Transnationalism, Part I: Pages 463-472 (Chinsung Chung, Keuntae Kim & Nicola Piper), (2016).

“Measuring national human rights: a reflection on the Korean experiences” Human Rights Quarterly 34: 886-1020 (with Jeong-Woo Koo and Suk-ki Kong) (2012).

“Globalization, Transnational Corporation and Human Rights” Nam-Kook Kim ed. Globalization and Regional Integration in Europe and Asia (London: Ashgate), (2009).

“National Human Rights Institutions and the UN Advisory Committee,” National Human Rights Commission of Korea, The Role of NHRIs in the Newly Established UN Human Rights Mechanisms (2007).

Bakari Sidiki Diaby (Côte d’Ivoire)

[Original: French]

Date and place of birth: 28 December 1976, Zahia S/P DALOA (Côte d’Ivoire).

Working languages: French, English and Spanish.

Current position/function

Deputy Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission of Côte d’Ivoire.

Permanent Secretary of the National Human Rights Institutions of the Member Countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union.

Main professional activities

Assists and stands in for the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission of Côte d’Ivoire.

Processes complaints of human rights violations.

Drafts the records of meetings.

Monitors violations and assists victims.

Prepares and conducts capacity-building seminars and workshops.

Establishes regional human rights commissions.

Academic background

Ph.D in law (under way; Côte d’Ivoire and Spain).

Specialized postgraduate diploma (DESS) in human rights.

Advanced studies postgraduate diploma in basic public law (DEA).

Master’s (Master 2) in human resource management; Master’s (Maîtrise) with practical training in public health.

Kokou Mawuena Ika Kana Ewomsan (Togo)

[Original: French]

Date and place of birth: 31 December 1954, Koutoukpa.

Working language: French.

Current position/function

Director for the Promotion of Human Rights (retired), human rights expert.

Main professional activities

Lecturer in philosophy from 1979 to 1992; Secretary-General of the Association of Philosophy Teachers of Togo and Chair of the Committee on Philosophy Curricula at Secondary Level from 1984 to 1992; Director for the Promotion of Human Rights in the Ministry of Human Rights from 1992 to 2015; Chair of Sub-Committee No. 6: Human Rights, Democracy and Peace, in the National Committee for UNESCO, from 1994 to 2015; full member of the National Commission for la Francophonie from 2004 to 2010.

Academic background

University studies in philosophy and applied social sciences: Bachelor’s in teaching of philosophy and applied social sciences; Master’s C1 certificate (Maîtrise C1) in comparative philosophy in 1979; Master’s C2 certificate (Maîtrise C2) in philosophy in 1981. Training in human rights: course on drafting and presenting initial and periodic reports organized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Train-the-trainers course in human rights and democratic citizenship (summer university programme at the Advanced Teachers’ Training School (grande école), Cachan, France).

Other main activities in the field relevant to the mandate of the treaty body concerned

Instructor for human rights, democracy and peace; expert member of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination from 2006 to 2014; coordinator for the workshop on the role of national human rights institutions and other specialized mechanisms against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, held in Kigali, Rwanda on 28 and 29 September 2015; facilitator and trainer for members of the standing committee and public servants of the Ministry for Human Rights, Social Affairs and Gender, responsible for drafting reports and following up on treaty body and universal period review recommendations, held in Bujumbura, Burundi, from 2 to 6 August 2016; panellist and moderator at the seminar on the role of national human rights institutions in the Arab region and other national mechanisms specialized in combatting racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, held in Rabat, Morocco, on 20 and 21 December 2016.

Candidate’s most recent publications in the field

Comportements éthiques traditionnels et droits de l’homme (Lomé, IPAC 2005), for a workshop summarizing research on human rights and traditions in Togo, National Commission for UNESCO.

Ricardo Ulcuango Farinango (Ecuador)

[Original: Spanish]

Place and date of birth: 21 April 1966, Cayambe, Ecuador.

Working languages: Spanish and Kichwa.

Current position or function

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Ecuador to the Plurinational State of Bolivia; official representative of Ecuador drawing up strategies for the protection of the interests of the nation and its citizens and for planning, coordinating and managing foreign policy, promoting the country’s strategic integration in the international context, in the framework of national development plans.

Government representative to the Fund for the Development of the Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Main professional activities

Ambassador of the Republic of Ecuador to the Plurinational State of Bolivia.

Member of the Comprehensive Public Debt Auditing Commission (auditing the foreign debt of Ecuador).

Deputy in the National Congress of Ecuador between 2003 and 2007, serving as Chair of the Special Standing Committee on Indigenous and Ethnic Minority Affairs, and Vice-Chair of the Special Committee on Policy Monitoring and Oversight and of the Absences and Ethics Committee of the National Congress.

Chair of the Indigenous Parliament of America; the Confederation of Kichwa Peoples of Ecuador; the Federation of Indigenous and Rural Organizations of Pichincha; the Ecuadorian Nations Broadcasting Corporation; Vice-Chair of the Confederation of Indigenous Nations of Ecuador; and founding member of the Development Fund for Indigenous Nations and Peoples.

Academic background

Rafael Bustamante secondary school, high school diploma (Bachiller) with a major in science, Quito, Ecuador.

National University of Loja, law studies (under way), Quito, Ecuador.

Other main activities in the field relevant to the mandate of the treaty body concerned

Drew up and advocated for adoption of the bill establishing the University for Indigenous Peoples in Ecuador, Amawtay Wasi.

Submitted a request to the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, for the adoption by the United Nations of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in 2004.

Promoted actions and strategies to strengthen socioeconomic development and dialogue for the benefit of indigenous peoples.

Participated in discussions on indigenous people’s rights at the Organization of American States and the Indigenous Parliament of America.

Drafted and presented resolutions in the framework of the Indigenous Parliament of America advocating the recognition of multiethnic and multicultural States, intercultural school curricula, respect for indigenous people’s customs and knowledge, the elimination of discrimination and promotion of equality.

Participated in the development of an agenda for indigenous children and adolescents with UNICEF, the Indigenous Parliament of America and the Confederation of Kichwa Peoples of Ecuador.

List of most recent publications in the field

Historia de la Nacionalidad y los pueblos quichuas del Ecuador (co-author), ECUARUNARI, Ecuador Runacunapac Riccharimui, 1998.

Libro proyecto de la Constitución Política del Estado Plurinacional del Ecuador, (co-author), Confederation of Indigenous Nations of Ecuador, 1998.

Rebelión de los indios, Kintto Lucas, 2000 (participated in its publication).

Memoria del XVIII Parlamento Indígena de América, Indigenous Parliament of America, 2006.

Informe final de la Auditoria Integral de la Deuda Externa (co-author), 2008.

Abdi Ismaël Hersi (Djibouti)

[Original: French]

Date of Birth: 25 December 1949.

Working language: French

Current position or function

Chief magistrate, special status; Secretary-General responsible for human rights in the Ministry of Justice; the Secretary-General is responsible for the implementation of judicial policy, under the authority of the Minister.

Main professional activities

Oversees, coordinates and directs the activities of (b) Directorates under the authority of the Secretary-General; supervises and manages the Ministry’s unit responsible for drafting legislation on the organization of the judiciary, prison codes and the prison administration. The Secretary-General oversees the secretariat of the High Council of the Judiciary, the body responsible for judges’ career management.

Assists, under the authority of the Minister, in identifying long- and short-term draft reforms for adoption, and monitors their implementation.

Academic background

Diploma from the Institute of Higher International Studies at Paris University II — Sorbonne Pantheon; completed various continuous learning courses in the field of law and governance, particularly in the areas of human rights, strengthening the rule of law, public administration management, democracy and good governance.

Other main activities in the field relevant to the mandate of the treaty body concerned

Chair of the National Commission for the drafting and submission of initial and periodic reports on the implementation of international instruments ratified and/or acceded to by the Republic of Djibouti.

Member and Vice-Chair of the African Union Commission on International Law.

Chair of the Independent National Election Commission.

Head of the delegation of Djibouti in the dialogue with the Human Rights Council, for the universal periodic review.

List of most recent publications in the field

Apart from a study currently under way for the African Union on ways to fight and prevent corruption, the candidate has not recently published any texts under his own name. However, he actively participates in conceiving, drafting and publishing national laws and regulations.

Johannes Nicolaas Horn (Namibia)

Date and place of birth: 25 November 1952, Johannesburg, South Africa. I became a Namibian citizen in 1996. I am no longer a South African Citizen.

Working languages: English.

Current position/function

Professor of Law, University of Namibia: I teach Constitutional Law, Philosophy of Law and for the last two years, also Criminal Procedure. I also teach a module on Human Rights Law for law enforcement agents, Namibian Police and the City Police, in a programme of the University of Namibia Business School. I was the Director of Human Rights and Documentation Centre until 2009 when I became Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Namibia.

Main professional activities

Apart of the teaching responsibilities noted above, I am also the editor of the Namibian Law Journal.

I publish extensively on Human Rights and Constructional issues.

I am a trustee of the Namibian Law Journal and Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the SADC Law Journal, based at the University of Cape Town.

I am a board member of the African Consortium of Law and Religion Studies. One of my responsibilities is to deal with issues related to racial discrimination within religious bodies and how to deal with it within non-racial legal systems.

I have published extensively on racial issues in pre-democratic South Africa and pre‑independent Namibia over the years.

I am a frequent speaker at conferences on racial discrimination and racism in religious structures.

Educational background

Dr. Juris in Law (Cum Laude), University of Bremen.

Dr. Th in Theological Ethics (Politics and Theology) at the University of the Western Cape.

MA (Cum Laude) in Biblical Studies and Theology (University of Port Elizabeth, now Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University) and LLM (University of South Africa).

B. Th Hons (University of South Africa).

B. Proc (Rand Afrikaans University, now University of Johannesburg).

Other main activities in the field relevant to the mandate of the treaty body concerned

I do Human Rights training for the Namibian Police on a regular basis, including training in racial and gender sensitivities. In 2012 I did extensive training for the commanding structures of the Namibian Police Force. I also trained all the instructors at the Namibian Police Force Training College in Windhoek and Ondangwa.

I am a freelance political analyst and comment amongst other things, on human rights issues.

I appear regularly on programmes of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation and am regularly quoted in the Namibian Newspapers.

A great part of my work deals with the rise of racism twenty-seven years after independence and xenophobia in South Africa.

I regularly engage in discussion groups on race in the churches in Southern Africa.

I have written extensively in newspaper articles, religious publications such as the University of South Africa Church History publication, Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae.

List of most recent publications in the field

The Western Sahara case: Land Reform and pre-colonial land rights in Namibia, in SADC Law Journal, No. 1, 2014/15.

Human Rights Education in Africa, in Bösl A, and Diescho (2009), Human Rights in Africa, KAS, p. 53.

Pentecostals and the Human Rights Dispensation. A Case study of the AFM of SA (White Section) between 1908 and 1994, in Law and Religion in Africa (2015). Stellenbosch: Sun MeDIA, pp. 87-106.

Rita Izsák-Ndiaye (Hungary)

Date of birth: 7 August 1980.

Working languages: English.

Current position/function

United Nations Special Rapporteur on minority issues

Main professional activities

During my mandate as a Special Rapporteur, I produced annual thematic reports to the Human Rights Council and General Assembly. I visited eight Member States officially and two countries non-officially. I submitted over 200 communication letters to Member States concerning minority rights violations. I guided the work of the Forum on Minority Issues during 2011-2016, designed its programme of work, prepared the concept notes and draft recommendations, and identified the speakers. I prepared and/or commissioned additional reports, such as research on minority‑related recommendations of the universal periodic review process and on the linguistic rights of minorities. I held numerous public speeches and lectures at various universities and conferences.

Educational background

Masters in Law (Péter Pázmány Catholic University)

Other main activities in the field relevant to the mandate of the treaty body concerned

I have been working on racial discrimination and minority rights since my university years. I spent five years with the European Roma Rights Center in Budapest where my tasks included desk and field research, preparation of amicus curiae briefs, monitoring of ongoing legal cases and prepare thematic reports. In Somalia, I have been working with a local NGO, the Somaliland National Youth Organization as a Human Rights Officer and I taught law at the Hargeisa University. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, I was a Human Rights Officer in the Srebrenica Field Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) where my tasks included the monitoring of all human rights-related violations and ongoing programmes in the context of OSCE’s human dimension work. I had consultancy contracts, including with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Association of Women’s in Development, the Roma Education Fund, and the Centre for European Studies. During 2010-2011, I was a Chief of Staff of the Social Integration Department within the Ministry of Justice and Administration and also held the position of President and CEO of the Budapest‑based Tom Lantos Institute.

List of most recent publications in the field

My latest researches and thematic reports focused on the following topics: Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises; Caste-based discrimination; Minorities and criminal justice systems; Hate speech and incitement to hatred against minorities in the media; Violence and atrocity crimes targeted against minorities; Minorities in the Sustainable Development Goals; Rights of religious minorities; Linguistic minority rights. I produced comprehensive minority rights assessment reports of the following countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ukraine, Brazil, Iraq, the Republic of Moldova, Sri Lanka.

Keiko Ko (Japan)

Date and place of birth: 5 September 1965, Tokyo, Japan.

Working languages: Japanese and English.

Current position/function

Professor of International Law, Nanzan University.

Refugee Examination Counsellor.

Member, Editorial Board of Journal of International Law and Diplomacy (Japanese Society of International Law).

Member, Committee on Complementarity in International Criminal Law, International Law Association.

Professor Emeritus, Mie University.

Main professional activities

Prof. Keiko Ko has been teaching and researching in the area of the public international law, and in particular, international criminal law and international human rights, for more than twenty years.

Prof. Keiko Ko has had an extensive international career, including participating in seminars and symposiums in Switzerland, Greece, Italy, New Zealand and Germany as well as researching at Columbia Law School, the United States of America.

Prof. Keiko Ko is a member of a number of academic associations including the International Law Association, the Japanese Association for Canadian Studies, the Japanese Society Comparative Law and the Japan Association of World Law.

Educational background

(2008-2009) Visiting Scholar (Fulbright Program), Columbia Law School, USA.

(2002-2003) Visiting Scholar (Abe fellow), Columbia Law School, USA.

(1992) Sophia University, Graduate School of Law (LLM).

(1989) Sophia University, Faculty of Law (LLB).

Other main activities in the field relevant to the mandate of the treaty body concerned

(2015-present) Member, Advisory Board, Institute for International Peace and Security Law der Universität zu Köln (Germany).

(2014-present) Refugee Examination Counselor. She was chosen as an individual with strong reputation for making fair judgments and having an excellent academic background in law and international affairs, to advise the Minister of Justice in determining refugee status.

(2008-present) Member, the International Human Rights Law Association.

(2007-2009) Member, Delegation of Japan to the Assembly of States Parties to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and Special Working Group on the Crime of Aggression.

List of most recent publications in the field

Shinya Murase and Keiko Ko (eds.), International Criminal Court: Prosecuting the Most Serious Crimes of International Community, 2nd Edition, (Toshindo, 2014) (Japanese).

Keiko Ko, “The Tokyo Judgment on Crimes against Peace and the Crime of Aggression” Beiträge aus dem Symposium Japan and Germany-150 Years of Cooperation Dynamics of Traditional Research Societies in a Rapidly Changing World, (Iudicium, 2013), pp. 81-101. (English).

Keiko Ko, “‘Fair Trial’ and International Law”, Comparative Law Journal, Vol. 74, 2012, pp. 6-17 (Japanese).

Keiko Ko, “Transitional Justice and International Criminal Jurisdiction: Contemporary Challenges, Journal of International Law and Diplomacy, Vol. 111, No. 2, 2012, pp. 29-54. (Japanese).

Jens Meierhenrich and Keiko Ko, “How Do States Join the International Criminal Court? The Implementation of the Rome Statute in Japan”, Journal of International Criminal Justice, Vol. 7 (2009), pp. 233-256. (English).

Gün Kut (Turkey)

Date of birth: 4 March 1957.

Working languages: English, French and Turkish (mother tongue).

Current position/function

1996-present: Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Bogazici University, Istanbul.

1996-present: Member in respect of Turkey, the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) of the Council of Europe.

2010-2017: Member of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Main professional activities

Teaching courses on International Relations.

Directing research and theses, and related academic activities at the University.

ECRI activities.

Educational background

Lycée de Galatasaray 1976 (baccalaureate).

Bogazici University 1981 (BA, Political Science).

State University of New York at Binghamton 1985 (MA, Political Science).

State University of New York at Binghamton 1985 (Ph.D., Political Science).

Other main activities in the field relevant to the mandate of the treaty body concerned

Rapporteur for several country-by-country reports as part of the monitoring activities of ECRI.

Member of a number of permanent or ad hoc working groups dealing with ECRI’s relations with the civil society in Europe, and preparing draft General Policy recommendations on specific issues of racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and related intolerance in member states of the Council for Europe.

Preparation of and/or contribution to various public events (conferences, symposia, round table meetings, media events on the fight against racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and related intolerance in Turkey and other member states of the Council of Europe, Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination activities and functions.

List of most recent publications in the field

Contribution to the drafting and finalization of a number of reports, recommendations, declarations published by ECRI (cf. ECRI web site www.coe.int/ecrit for a list).

Yeung Kam John Yeung Sik Yuen (Mauritius)

Date and place of birth: 1 January 1947, Mauritius.

Working languages: English, French, Hakka (Chinese-minority dialect) and Mauritian Creole dialect.

Current position/function

Elected member of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination up to December 2017 and Member of Working Group on Communications.

Commissioner African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) and Chairman of the Working Group on Rights of Older Persons and Persons with Disabilities in Africa until 2019.

Legal Consultant, Arbitrator and Mediator.

Past professional activities

Joined State Law Office in Mauritius in 1972 and then the Judiciary in 1976. Occupied all existing posts in Judiciary until retirement as Chief Justice at Supreme Court in December 2013. Over 41 years in legal and judicial public service.

Lecturer in Civil Law at the University of Mauritius and in Commercial Law at the Council of Legal Education for a number of years and acted as Chairman of Board of Examiners for Barristers, Attorneys and Notaries.

From 1998 to 2001 member of the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and served on its Working Group on Minorities.

Elected Commissioner of the ACHPR in 2007 and re-elected in 2013.

Elected in 2013 to serve on the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and am now standing for re-election for a second mandate. Member of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Working Group on Communications.

Educational background

Cambridge Higher School Certificate (A levels) in English, French and Latin 1966.

1966-1969 Leeds University, England. LLB Hons.

1970 Called to the Bar, Lincoln’s Inn, London, England.

1971-1972 Université de Paris II, Pantheon. Examen Prealable Doctorat d’Université en Droit Civil-First in promotion.

Other main activities in the field relevant to the mandate of the treaty body concerned

1999 and 2001 — As expert of the Working Group on minorities of the United Nations Sub-Commission participated in seminars in Kumanovo, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and in Gaborone, Botswana.

Elaborated the Protocol on the Rights of Older Persons in Africa which is awaiting the ratification of African Union States Parties and also the Draft Protocol on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa which is now with the African Union Commission before submission to the African Union Heads of States for eventual approval.

Presently engaged with the elaboration of a Draft Protocol on the Rights of the Citizens to Social Protection and Social Security in Africa.

List of most recent publications in the field

Author of the United Nations Working Paper on Human Rights Problems and Protection of the Roma (August 2000).

Author of the United Nations Working Paper on Human Rights and Weapons of Mass Destruction, or with Indiscriminate effect, or of a Nature to cause Superfluous Injury or Unnecessary Suffering (August 2002) and updated in August 2003.

Chapter on “the Rights of Older Persons and Persons with Disabilities in Africa ´in book “The African Regional Human Rights System: 30 Years after the ACHPR and Beyond” (2011).

4 March 2013 — Inaugural Talk to celebrate Law Day in Mauritius on “Democracy and the Rule of Law”.

Presentation on 26 November 2015 at Palais des Nations before the joint Permanent Representations of Africa in Geneva and Brussels on the African Governance Architecture (AGA).

9-10 September 2016 — Presentation on “Changing Society and the Judiciary: Perspective from a small jurisdiction” at the 2nd Summit of the Chinese Judicial Studies Society, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China.