Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Opens One Hundred and Sixteenth Session in Geneva
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this morning opened its one hundred and sixteenth session in Geneva, during which it will review anti-discrimination efforts by Burundi, Guatemala, Maldives, New Zealand, Sweden and Tunisia, and examine individual communications under article 14 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The Committee heard from a representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and adopted the session’s agenda.
Mahamane Cisse Gouro, Director of the Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Representative of the Secretary-General, opening the one hundred and sixteenth session, said as the High Commissioner for Human Rights had told the Human Rights Council at its sixtieth session in September, disturbing trends that undercut human rights were gaining ground across the world. When States ignored violations of the law, they became normalised. And when States applied the law inconsistently, they undermined the legal order everywhere.
Mr. Cisse Gouro paid tribute to the important work of the Committee in monitoring the implementation of the Convention and in promoting and protecting the human rights of all people without discrimination. With the Convention marking its sixtieth anniversary this year, it was an opportunity to explore avenues to generate greater political will and concrete action to fight racial discrimination in accordance with human rights obligations and to ensure that every person enjoyed all human rights without distinction as to race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin.
Sixty years after its adoption, the Convention sadly remained profoundly relevant, Mr. Cisse Gouro said. Racial injustice, inequality, hate speech and intolerance persisted, and in many contexts were alarmingly on the rise. Too often, hate speech and xenophobia were normalised by political and public discourse and amplified by new technologies. Combatting racial discrimination remained one of the United Nations’ key mandates.
Mr. Cisse Gouro reported that, at the Human Rights Council’s fifty-ninth session, an intersessional high-level panel discussion was held on the incompatibility between democracy and racism, attended by current Committee member Ibrahima Guissé and former member Anastasia Crickley. At the Council’s sixtieth session, the High Commissioner presented a report focusing on reparatory justice for legacies of enslavement, the trade in enslaved Africans and colonialism, and also issued a report on a world of sports free from racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance. Further, the Office of the High Commissioner presented its expert study on the contribution of treaty bodies to the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, which illustrated how treaty bodies, including the Committee, had played a significant role in both its development and implementation. A series of United Nations anti-racial discrimination mechanisms also presented reports, including reports by the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent on “principles, provisions and pathways to reparatory justice for people of African descent” and on its visit to Colombia.
Mr. Cisse Gouro said the Secretary-General’s report on the programme of activities for the implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent to the General Assembly’s eightieth session highlighted that the Second International Decade (2025-2034) presented a vital opportunity for States and the international community to accelerate progress in the areas of recognition, justice and development for people of African descent.
Mr. Cisse Gouro also presented other relevant activities by United Nations agencies on anti-discrimination issues.
The United Nations’ difficult financial situation had had a considerable impact on the work of the treaty body system, Mr. Cisse Gouro said. This year, there had been significant and painful reductions in time spent on meetings and field visits due to the sharp decrease in the human and financial resources of the Office of the High Commissioner. It was unlikely that the financial situation would improve in 2026. These constraints affected the treaty bodies’ ability to carry out their mandates effectively and in a timely manner.
Mr. Cisse Gouro reaffirmed his firm commitment to supporting the treaty body system in carrying out its essential mandate, and thanked the Committee for its continued collaboration and support. The integrity and effectiveness of treaty bodies was a key issue that would be addressed at the informal meeting of treaty body Chairs next month, as well as at their formal annual meeting in June next year. Mr. Cisse Gouro encouraged the Committee to proactively consider what it could do to conserve resources and work more efficiently and in a more coordinated manner with other Committees. He said the Office of the High Commissioner would continue to work alongside the Committee and all treaty bodies to strengthen the human rights protection system and provide it with the necessary resources to advance this vital work.
Mr. Cisse Gouro said a heavy programme of work was before the Committee over the next three weeks, including six major State party reviews: Burundi, Guatemala, Maldives, New Zealand, Sweden and Tunisia; the consideration of five State party follow-up reports: Bolivia, Mexico, Moldova, San Marino and Viet Nam; and the preparation of four lists of issues prior to reporting. The Committee would also continue its work on a joint general recommendation on xenophobia and a draft general recommendation on reparations; and consider cases under its early warning and urgent action procedure and individual complaints procedure.
In conclusion, Mr. Cisse Gouro wished the Committee a fruitful and productive one hundred and sixteenth session.
Michal Balcerzak, Committee Chairperson, thanked the Office of the High Commissioner for its continued support for the Committee’s work. These were difficult times for the international human rights system. The Committee had had to cancel one session this year, and the current session had been shortened by one week. The damage that the Committee and its mandate had suffered due to lost time was significant. The Committee was aware that the Office had done its best to support the Committee and manage the situation.
Despite the difficult circumstances, Mr. Balcerzak said, the Committee would not give up - it would pursue its mandate and look for solutions to the issues it faced. He reiterated that the treaty body system was in a crisis, and States needed to act on this situation without delay.
Mr. Balcerzak announced that, in addition to holding dialogues with six States parties and meeting with non-governmental organizations and national human rights institutions, the Committee would hold a high-level event this session to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the Convention. He said that the event would be a great opportunity to recall the message of the Convention and the obligations of States parties. The Committee would reflect on the past and on the future of the Convention, as well as on its mandate.
The programme of work and other documents related to the Committee’s one hundred and sixteenth session can be found here. Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, while webcasts of the public meetings can be found here.
The Committee will next meet in public on Tuesday, 18 November at 3 p.m. to consider the combined thirteenth to fifteenth periodic report of Maldives (CERD/C/MDV/13-15).
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