UN Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination to review Azerbaijan

GENEVA (28 April 2016) – Azerbaijan’s record on tackling racial discrimination will face scrutiny by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) on 3 and 4 May in meetings that will be webcast live. Azerbaijan is one of the 177 States that have ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and so is reviewed regularly by the Committee of 18 international independent experts. 

Among the possible issues for discussion between CERD members and a delegation from the Azerbaijan Government are:

·    Racial discrimination and hate speech, including against ethnic minorities;
·    Legal framework to prohibit racial discrimination;
·    Information and data on enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights by various ethnic groups and by displaced persons and refugees, including restitution of property;
·    Dialogue with minority groups;
·    Asylum law, protection against refoulement;
·    Measures to reduce and prevent statelessness.

The review will take place on 3 May from 15:00 – 18:00 (17:00-20:00 in Baku) and on 4 May from 10:00 – 13:00 (12:00 – 15:00) at Palais Wilson in Geneva and will be webcast at www.treatybodywebcast.org

The Committee will also hear from other UN entities and NGOs. More information here:
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1072&Lang=en

The Committee will publish its findings on Azerbaijan and the other countries being reviewed – Spain, Oman, Rwanda, Georgia and Namibia - on 13 May here:
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1072&Lang=en

ENDS

For more information and media requests, please contact Liz Throssell - +41 22 917 9466 / ethrossell@ohchr.org

Background

Members of CERD are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world, who serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties. The Committee’s concluding observations are an independent assessment of States’ compliance with their human rights obligations under the treaty. More information on the Committee: http://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/cerd/pages/cerdindex.aspx

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 21 December 1965. More information on the Convention’s 50th anniversary here: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CERD/50/Pages/Icerd50.aspx

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