New York, 7 March 1966
Objectives
This Convention defines and condemns racial discrimination and commits
States to change national laws and policies which create or perpetuate
racial discrimination. It was the first human rights instrument to establish
an international monitoring system and was also revolutionary in its provision
of national measures towards the advancement of specific racial or ethnic
groups.
One of the main objectives of the Convention is to promote racial equality. As such, the Convention not only aims to achieve de jure racial equality but also de facto equality, which allows the various ethnic, racial and national groups to enjoy the same social development.
Furthermore, the Convention recognizes that certain racial or ethnic groups
may need special protection or may need to be assisted by special measures
in order to achieve adequate development. The Convention provides that
such special measures shall not be considered racial discrimination so
long as they are not continued after the objectives for which they were
taken have been achieved.
Key Provisions
The Convention defines the concept of racial discrimination, covering what is sometimes called indirect discrimination or unjustifiable disparate impact. The Convention shall not apply to distinctions, exclusions, restrictions or preferences made by a State party between citizens and non-citizens.
Other important provisions include imperative stipulations obliging States parties to adopt legislation to criminalize and punish the dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority or hatred, incitement to racial discrimination, acts of violence against any race or group of persons of another colour or ethnic origin and assistance in such activities.
The Convention contains a non-exhaustive long list of rights and freedoms in the enjoyment of which racial discrimination shall be prohibited and eliminated. The list includes certain rights not expressly contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, such as the right to inherit and the right of access to any place or service intended for use by the general public. It also includes rights in regard to which racial discrimination is prohibited, such as the right to work, the right to join trade unions and the right to housing.
In order to monitor and review actions taken by States to fulfil their
obligations, the Convention established the Committee on the Elimination
of Racial Discrimination (CERD), which was the first body created by the
United Nations to monitor the implementation by States of a human rights
treaty. Its mandate is to review the legal, judicial, administrative and
other steps taken by individual States to fulfil their obligations to combat
racial discrimination. The Convention establishes three procedures to facilitate
CERD's review. The first is the requirement that all States parties to
the Convention submit periodic reports to the Committee. The second procedure
provides for State-to-State complaints and the third permits an individual
or a group of persons, who claim to be victims of racial discrimination,
to lodge a complaint against the State allegedly responsible. This may
be done only if the State party concerned has declared, under the Convention,
that it recognizes the competence of CERD to receive such complaints.
As of 15 June 2000, 30 Contracting States had made such declaration.