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21 March 2000


The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this morning discussed preparations for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance and how it could contribute to this process.

Some Committee experts said that the regional dimension should not be forgotten by the World Conference against racism. Regional seminars on racism that were currently being held were providing regional views and experiences on racism, and should be an important aspect of the World Conference.

Additionally, the Committee had also established a contact group to communicate and establish links with other international bodies participating in the preparations for the World Conference against Racism. The contact group would gather information about the developments at the Conference and provide this information to members of the Committee. It would also promote the work of the Committee at the Conference.

Committee expert Gay McDougall suggested that non-state actors be sought to participate in the World Conference against Racism because they were importance for finding solutions in the struggle against racial discrimination, and because of the experience which they could bring to the Conference. It was agreed by some Committee members that these non-government bodies played a growing and important role in combating racism.

Due to an unforseen vacancy in the contact group, the Committee decided to include its expert Patricia Nozipho January-Bardill in the group. She joins Ms. McDougall and Mario Jorge Yutzis.

Towards the end of the meeting, Committee members heard proposals concerning a draft document for the preparatory committee for the World Conference against Racism which they could prepare.

The draft document would include decisions drawn from fifty-fifth session of the Committee was held last August. These included decisions taken by the Committee on early warning and urgent procedures to combat racism, and information on countries which had amended their constitutions with a view to implementing the Convention.

At the end of the meeting this morning, the Committee agreed to hold their fifty-eighth session from 8 to 26 January 2001 in New York. The experts said they wished to make it easier for small countries which only had permanent missions to United Nations Headquarters in New York, to present their reports to the Committee.

Mr. Gaham also informed the Committee that the United Nations would not be able to finance the added expense of holding the group's August 2001 session in South Africa at the same time as the World Conference against Racism.

Participating in the discussion this morning were Luis Valencia Rodriguez, Peter Nobel, Mario Jorge Yutzis, Regis de Gouttes, Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr, Francois Lonseny Fall, Yuri A. Rechetov, Michael Parker Banton, Agha Shahi, Gay McDougall, Carlos Lechuga Hevia, Patricia January-Bardill, Brun-Otto Bryde, as well as Hamid Gaham and Soussan Raadi, both representing the High Commissioner on Human Rights.

The Committee reconvenes at 3.30 p.m on to begin its consideration of the tenth, eleventh and twelfth periodic reports from the Government of Australia (CERD/C/335/Add.2).



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