International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

A/RES/63/243View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda items 62 Elimination of racism and racial discrimination and 62a Elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, published in 2009.

What else is in this group?

14 documents · 1966–2017

Newer documents in this group exist (latest: 2017).

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2017	A/RES/71/180	International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination	263	–
2015	A/RES/69/161	International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination	318	–
2013	A/RES/67/156	International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination	1,941	–
2011	A/RES/65/200	International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination	2,051	–
2009	A/RES/63/243	International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination	1,704	–

This group bundles related documents that are not individually ordered.

What subjects does this mandate have?

12 subjects

Advisory Services Gender Mainstreaming International Obligations Participants Periodic Reports Racial Discrimination Report Preparation Reservations and Declarations Signatures, Accessions, Ratifications Technical Cooperation Treaty-Monitoring Bodies Xenophobia

What’s in this document?

28 operative paragraphs

I.Reports of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Takes note of the reports of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on its seventieth and seventy-first⁶ and its seventy-second and seventy-third⁷ sessions;

⁶Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-second Session, Supplement No. 18 (A/62/18).

⁷Ibid., Sixty-third Session, Supplement No. 18 (A/63/18).

Commends the Committee for its contributions to the effective implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,1 especially through the examination of reports under article 9 of the Convention, action on communications under article 14 of the Convention and thematic discussions, which contribute to the prevention and elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;

Calls upon States parties to fulfil their obligation, under article 9, paragraph 1, of the Convention, to submit their periodic reports on measures taken to implement the Convention in due time;

Expresses its concern at the fact that a great number of reports are overdue and continue to be overdue, in particular initial reports, which constitutes an obstacle to the full implementation of the Convention;

Encourages States parties to the Convention whose reports are seriously overdue to avail themselves of the advisory services and technical assistance that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights can provide, upon their request, for the preparation of the reports;

Encourages the Committee to continue to cooperate and exchange information with United Nations bodies and mechanisms, in particular with the Human Rights Council, its Advisory Committee and the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and with intergovernmental organizations, as well as with non-governmental organizations;

Encourages States parties to the Convention to continue to include a gender perspective in their reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and invites the Committee to take into account a gender perspective in the implementation of its mandate;

Notes with appreciation the engagement of the Committee in the follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action;3

Expresses its appreciation for the efforts made so far by the Committee to improve the efficiency of its working methods, including with a view to further harmonizing the working methods of the treaty bodies, and encourages the Committee to continue its activities in this regard;

Welcomes, in this regard, measures taken by the Committee to follow up on its concluding observations and recommendations, such as the appointment of a follow-up coordinator⁸ and the adoption of the guidelines on follow-up;⁹

⁸Ibid., Sixtieth Session, Supplement No. 18 (A/60/18), annex IV.

⁹Ibid., Sixty-first Session, Supplement No. 18 (A/61/18), annex VI.

Encourages the continued participation of members of the Committee in the annual inter-committee meetings and meetings of chairpersons of the human rights treaty bodies, especially with a view to a more coordinated approach to the activities of the treaty body system and standardized reporting as well as to solving the problem of the backlog of reports of States parties in an effective manner, including by identifying efficiencies and maximizing the use of their resources as well as learning and sharing best practices and experiences in this regard;

Notes the persistent backlog of reports of States parties awaiting consideration, which prevents the Committee from considering the periodic reports of States parties in a timely manner and without undue delay, as well as the request of the Committee that the General Assembly authorize an extension of its meeting time, which is currently only six weeks per year;

Decides to authorize the Committee to meet for an additional week per session, as a temporary measure, with effect from August 2009, until 2011;

Also decides to assess the situation regarding the meeting time of the Committee at its sixty-fifth session on the basis of an evaluation made by the Office of the High Commissioner, taking into account a more comprehensive approach to the backlog of human rights treaty bodies and the increasing number of reports of States parties to the human rights conventions;

II.Financial situation of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the financial situation of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination;¹⁰

¹⁰A/63/306.

Expresses its profound concern at the fact that a number of States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination1 have still not fulfilled their financial obligations, as shown in the report of the Secretary-General, and strongly appeals to all States parties that are in arrears to fulfil their outstanding financial obligations under article 8, paragraph 6, of the Convention;

Strongly urges States parties to the Convention to accelerate their domestic ratification procedures with regard to the amendment to the Convention concerning the financing of the Committee and to notify the Secretary-General expeditiously in writing of their agreement to the amendment, as decided upon at the Fourteenth Meeting of States Parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination on 15 January 1992,4 endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution 47/111 and further reiterated at the Sixteenth Meeting of States Parties on 16 January 1996;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to ensure adequate financial arrangements and to provide the necessary support, including an adequate level of Secretariat assistance, in order to ensure the functioning of the Committee and to enable it to cope with its increasing amount of work;

Also requests the Secretary-General to invite those States parties to the Convention that are in arrears to pay the amounts in arrears, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session;

III.Status of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the status of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination;¹¹

¹¹A/63/473.

Expresses its satisfaction at the number of States that have ratified or acceded to the Convention, which now stands at one hundred and seventy-three;

Urges States parties to comply fully with their obligations under the Convention and to take into consideration the concluding observations and general recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination;

Reaffirms its conviction that ratification of or accession to the Convention on a universal basis and the implementation of its provisions are necessary for the effectiveness of the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and for the implementation of the commitments undertaken under the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action,3 and expresses its disappointment that universal ratification of the Convention was not achieved by the targeted date of 2005;

Urges all States that have not yet become parties to the Convention to ratify or accede to it as a matter of urgency;

Urges States to limit the extent of any reservation they lodge to the Convention and to formulate any reservation as precisely and as narrowly as possible in order to ensure that no reservation is incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention, to review their reservations on a regular basis with a view to withdrawing them, and to withdraw reservations that are contrary to the object and purpose of the Convention;

Notes that the number of States parties to the Convention that have made the declaration provided for in article 14 of the Convention now stands at fifty-three, and requests States parties that have not yet done so to consider making that declaration;

Invites the Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to present an oral report on the work of the Committee and to engage in an interactive dialogue with the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session under the item entitled “Elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance”;

Decides to consider, at its sixty-fifth session, under the item entitled “Elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance”, the reports of the Committee on its seventy-fourth and seventy-fifth and its seventy-sixth and seventy-seventh sessions, the report of the Secretary-General on the financial situation of the Committee and the report of the Secretary-General on the status of the Convention.