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COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION TO MEET IN GENEVA FROM 19 FEBRUARY TO 9 MARCH 2007
15 February 2007
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Committee on the Elimination
of Racial Discrimination
BACKGROUND RELEASE
15 February 2007
Committee to Consider Reports of Antigua and Barbuda, Canada, Democratic Republic of Congo, Czech Republic, India, Israel, Liechtenstein and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination will hold its seventieth session at Palais Wilson in Geneva from 19 February to 9 March 2007 to review anti-discrimination efforts undertaken by the Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Canada, Democratic Republic of Congo, Czech Republic, India, Israel, Liechtenstein and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
These countries are among the 173 States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. The 18-member Committee, the first body created by the United Nations to review actions by States to fulfil obligations under a specific human-rights agreement, examines reports submitted periodically by States parties on efforts to comply with the Convention. Government representatives generally present the report, discuss its contents with Committee members, and answer questions.
At this session, the Experts will also look at the implementation of the Convention in Congo, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea and Togo under its review procedure. These States parties are at least five years late for the submission of their initial or periodic reports to the Committee.
The third to ninth and tenth periodic reports of the Democratic Republic of the Congo were taken up by the Committee on 14 and 15 August 1996, and the final conclusions on it can be found in document CERD/C/304/Add.18; the Committee took up the thirteenth and fourteenth periodic reports of Canada on 5 and 6 August 2002, and the concluding observations on it can be found in document A/57/18, paras. 315-343; the seventh, eighth and ninth periodic reports of Israel were taken up by the Committee on 4 and 5 March 1998, and the final conclusions on it can be found in document CERD/C/304/Add.45; the Committee took up the tenth to fourteenth periodic reports of India on 7 and 8 August 1996, and its concluding observations can be found in document CERD/C/304/Add.13; the initial, second and third periodic reports of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia were taken up by the Committee on 11 and 12 August 1997, and the final conclusions on it can be found in document CERD/C/304/Add.38; the Committee took up the initial report of Liechtenstein on 18 and 19 March 2002, and the concluding observations on it can be found in document CERD/C/60/CO/7; the Committee reviewed the implementation of the Convention by Antigua and Barbuda in the absence of a report on 4 August 1999, and its concluding observations can be found in A/54/18, paras. 291-293; and the Committee reviewed the fifth periodic report of the Czech Republic on 7 and 8 August 2003, and its final conclusions on it can be found in document CERD/C/63/CO/4.
During the course of the three-week session, the Committee will also be briefed 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.
In addition, the Committee will study, in closed session, communications from individuals claiming to be victims of racial discrimination. Only complaints against the 51 States parties that have recognized the competence of the Committee under article 14 of the Convention are admissible.
On the afternoon of Friday, 2 March, the Committee will consider follow-up by States parties to its observations and recommendations, and on the morning of Monday, 5 March, will examine country situations under its early warning and urgent action procedures.
States Parties to the Convention
At present, the following 173 States are parties to the Convention: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Equatorial Guinea, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Communications under Article 14
Under article 14 of the Convention, the Committee considers communications from individuals or groups of individuals claiming to be victims of a violation by States parties of any of the rights set forth in the Convention, provided the States concerned have recognized the competence of the Committee in this regard. The following 51 States parties have already done so: Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Committee Membership and Officers
The members of the Committee, elected in their individual capacity, are: Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr (Egypt); Nourredine Amir (Algeria); Alexei Avtonomov (Russian Federation); Jose Francisco Cali Tzay (Guatemala); Fatima-Binta Victoire Dah (Vice-Chairperson) (Burkina Faso); Kakou Mawuena Ika Kana (Dieudonne) Ewomsan (Togo); Régis de Gouttes (Chairperson) (France); Patricia Nozipho January-Bardill (South Africa); Morten Kjaerum (Denmark); José Augusto Lindgren Alves (Brazil); Raghavan Vasudevan Pillai (Vice-Chairperson) (India); Linos Alexander Sicilianos (Greece); Tang Chengyuan (China); Patrick Thornberry (Rapporteur) (United Kingdom); Luis Valencia Rodriguez (Ecuador); and Mario Jorge Yutzis (Vice-Chairperson) (Argentina).
Timetable for Consideration of Reports, Comments and Further Information Submitted by States Parties
Monday, 19 February
p.m. Democratic Republic Eleventh to fifteenth periodic reports due from
of the Congo 1997 to 2005, submitted in one report (CERD/C/COD/15)
Tuesday, 20 February
a.m. Democratic Republic (continued)
of the Congo
p.m. Canada Seventeenth and eighteenth periodic reports due from 2005, submitted in one report (CERD/C/CAN/18)
Wednesday, 21 February
a.m. Canada (continued)
Thursday, 22 February 2007
a.m. Nicaragua, Congo, Review procedure (for States parties whose reports Papua New Guinea, Togo are seriously overdue)
p.m. Israel Tenth to thirteenth periodic reports due 1998 to 2004, submitted in one report (CERD/C/471/Add.2)
Friday, 23 February
a.m. Israel (continued)
p.m. India Fifteenth to nineteenth periodic reports due from 1998 to 2006, submitted in one report (CERD/C/IND/19)
Monday, 26 February
a.m. India (continued)
p.m. The Former Yugoslav Fourth to seventh periodic reports due from
Republic of Macedonia 1998 - 2004, submitted in one report (CERD/C/MKD/7)
Tuesday, 27 February
a.m. The former Yugoslav (continued)
Republic of Macedonia
p.m. Liechtenstein Second and third periodic reports due from 2003 to 2005, submitted in one report (CERD/C/LIE/4)
Wednesday, 28 February
a.m. Liechtenstein (continued)
p.m. Antigua and Barbuda Initial to ninth periodic reports due from 1989 to 2005, submitted in one report (CERD/C/ATG/9)
Thursday, 1 March
a.m. Antigua and Barbuda (continued)
p.m. Czech Republic Sixth and seventh periodic reports due 2006, submitted in one document (CERD/C/CZE/7)
Friday, 2 March
a.m. Czech Republic (continued)
p.m. Ethiopia Review procedure (for States parties whose reports are seriously overdue)
Follow-up procedure
Monday, 5 March
a.m. Early warning and urgent action procedures
__________
For use of the information media; not an official record
of Racial Discrimination
BACKGROUND RELEASE
15 February 2007
Committee to Consider Reports of Antigua and Barbuda, Canada, Democratic Republic of Congo, Czech Republic, India, Israel, Liechtenstein and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination will hold its seventieth session at Palais Wilson in Geneva from 19 February to 9 March 2007 to review anti-discrimination efforts undertaken by the Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Canada, Democratic Republic of Congo, Czech Republic, India, Israel, Liechtenstein and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
These countries are among the 173 States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. The 18-member Committee, the first body created by the United Nations to review actions by States to fulfil obligations under a specific human-rights agreement, examines reports submitted periodically by States parties on efforts to comply with the Convention. Government representatives generally present the report, discuss its contents with Committee members, and answer questions.
At this session, the Experts will also look at the implementation of the Convention in Congo, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea and Togo under its review procedure. These States parties are at least five years late for the submission of their initial or periodic reports to the Committee.
The third to ninth and tenth periodic reports of the Democratic Republic of the Congo were taken up by the Committee on 14 and 15 August 1996, and the final conclusions on it can be found in document CERD/C/304/Add.18; the Committee took up the thirteenth and fourteenth periodic reports of Canada on 5 and 6 August 2002, and the concluding observations on it can be found in document A/57/18, paras. 315-343; the seventh, eighth and ninth periodic reports of Israel were taken up by the Committee on 4 and 5 March 1998, and the final conclusions on it can be found in document CERD/C/304/Add.45; the Committee took up the tenth to fourteenth periodic reports of India on 7 and 8 August 1996, and its concluding observations can be found in document CERD/C/304/Add.13; the initial, second and third periodic reports of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia were taken up by the Committee on 11 and 12 August 1997, and the final conclusions on it can be found in document CERD/C/304/Add.38; the Committee took up the initial report of Liechtenstein on 18 and 19 March 2002, and the concluding observations on it can be found in document CERD/C/60/CO/7; the Committee reviewed the implementation of the Convention by Antigua and Barbuda in the absence of a report on 4 August 1999, and its concluding observations can be found in A/54/18, paras. 291-293; and the Committee reviewed the fifth periodic report of the Czech Republic on 7 and 8 August 2003, and its final conclusions on it can be found in document CERD/C/63/CO/4.
During the course of the three-week session, the Committee will also be briefed 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.
In addition, the Committee will study, in closed session, communications from individuals claiming to be victims of racial discrimination. Only complaints against the 51 States parties that have recognized the competence of the Committee under article 14 of the Convention are admissible.
On the afternoon of Friday, 2 March, the Committee will consider follow-up by States parties to its observations and recommendations, and on the morning of Monday, 5 March, will examine country situations under its early warning and urgent action procedures.
States Parties to the Convention
At present, the following 173 States are parties to the Convention: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Equatorial Guinea, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Communications under Article 14
Under article 14 of the Convention, the Committee considers communications from individuals or groups of individuals claiming to be victims of a violation by States parties of any of the rights set forth in the Convention, provided the States concerned have recognized the competence of the Committee in this regard. The following 51 States parties have already done so: Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Committee Membership and Officers
The members of the Committee, elected in their individual capacity, are: Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr (Egypt); Nourredine Amir (Algeria); Alexei Avtonomov (Russian Federation); Jose Francisco Cali Tzay (Guatemala); Fatima-Binta Victoire Dah (Vice-Chairperson) (Burkina Faso); Kakou Mawuena Ika Kana (Dieudonne) Ewomsan (Togo); Régis de Gouttes (Chairperson) (France); Patricia Nozipho January-Bardill (South Africa); Morten Kjaerum (Denmark); José Augusto Lindgren Alves (Brazil); Raghavan Vasudevan Pillai (Vice-Chairperson) (India); Linos Alexander Sicilianos (Greece); Tang Chengyuan (China); Patrick Thornberry (Rapporteur) (United Kingdom); Luis Valencia Rodriguez (Ecuador); and Mario Jorge Yutzis (Vice-Chairperson) (Argentina).
Timetable for Consideration of Reports, Comments and Further Information Submitted by States Parties
Monday, 19 February
p.m. Democratic Republic Eleventh to fifteenth periodic reports due from
of the Congo 1997 to 2005, submitted in one report (CERD/C/COD/15)
Tuesday, 20 February
a.m. Democratic Republic (continued)
of the Congo
p.m. Canada Seventeenth and eighteenth periodic reports due from 2005, submitted in one report (CERD/C/CAN/18)
Wednesday, 21 February
a.m. Canada (continued)
Thursday, 22 February 2007
a.m. Nicaragua, Congo, Review procedure (for States parties whose reports Papua New Guinea, Togo are seriously overdue)
p.m. Israel Tenth to thirteenth periodic reports due 1998 to 2004, submitted in one report (CERD/C/471/Add.2)
Friday, 23 February
a.m. Israel (continued)
p.m. India Fifteenth to nineteenth periodic reports due from 1998 to 2006, submitted in one report (CERD/C/IND/19)
Monday, 26 February
a.m. India (continued)
p.m. The Former Yugoslav Fourth to seventh periodic reports due from
Republic of Macedonia 1998 - 2004, submitted in one report (CERD/C/MKD/7)
Tuesday, 27 February
a.m. The former Yugoslav (continued)
Republic of Macedonia
p.m. Liechtenstein Second and third periodic reports due from 2003 to 2005, submitted in one report (CERD/C/LIE/4)
Wednesday, 28 February
a.m. Liechtenstein (continued)
p.m. Antigua and Barbuda Initial to ninth periodic reports due from 1989 to 2005, submitted in one report (CERD/C/ATG/9)
Thursday, 1 March
a.m. Antigua and Barbuda (continued)
p.m. Czech Republic Sixth and seventh periodic reports due 2006, submitted in one document (CERD/C/CZE/7)
Friday, 2 March
a.m. Czech Republic (continued)
p.m. Ethiopia Review procedure (for States parties whose reports are seriously overdue)
Follow-up procedure
Monday, 5 March
a.m. Early warning and urgent action procedures
__________
For use of the information media; not an official record
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