Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Closes One Hundred and Ninth Session

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this afternoon closed its one hundred and ninth session, during which it reviewed the reports of Argentina, Niger, Philippines, Portugal, the Russian Federation and Tajikistan.

Ibrahima Guisse, Committee Rapporteur, providing a summary of the work undertaken during the session, said that the Committee had conducted six country reviews, examining the situation in Argentina, Niger, Philippines, Portugal, the Russian Federation and Tajikistan. The Committee’s concluding observations are available on the session’s webpage.

Mr. Guisse said the Committee also considered an individual communication during the session, which referred to a case of a Norwegian citizen of Pakistani origin, who was convicted of trafficking people from Pakistan into Norway. During his pre-trial detention, it was indicated by a court that his Pakistani background contributed to making him a flight risk. The author considered that such a statement violated his rights under the Convention, and that the court gave disproportionate weight to his ethnicity when it concluded that there was a flight risk, which was why he was unfairly kept in custody. The Committee concluded that the facts submitted by the author did not demonstrate a violation of the Convention. The Committee however, reminded the State party that the risk of flight assessments needed be based on objective facts, and not on the national or ethnic origin of a person alone.

The Committee also considered follow-up reports submitted by Chile, Singapore, Thailand and Switzerland.

Under the early warning and urgent action procedure, the Committee adopted a statement on the situation of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees of Haitian origin in the Americas region. The statement called on the State concerned, inter alia, to review its migration, asylum and refugee policies and laws, to prevent and eradicate discriminatory practices, including on the basis of race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin, affecting persons on the move, which had a disproportionate impact on persons of Haitian origin.

Mr. Guisse said the Committee pursued its work towards the elaboration of a general recommendation on racial discrimination and the right to health by adopting its first draft, which would be available on the Committee’s webpage. A call for submissions would be posted on the webpage and regional consultations would be organized.

Verene Albertha Shepherd, Committee Chairperson, in concluding remarks, thanked all members of the Committee for their participation in the session and for all they did to ensure they covered their agenda and stayed true to their mandate of working towards the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination, wherever they occurred.

Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, while webcasts of the public meetings can be found here. The concluding observations and other documents related to the session can be found here.

The next session of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is scheduled to take place from 7- 31 August 2023 and will review the reports of Croatia, Italy, Namibia, Senegal, Turkmenistan and Uruguay.

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