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CERD
International Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
Adopted and opened
for signature and ratification by General Assembly
resolution
2106 (XX) of 21 December 1965 entry into force 4 January 1969
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The States Parties
to this Convention,
Considering that
the Charter of the United Nations is based on the principles of the
dignity and equality inherent in all human beings, and that all Member
States have pledged themselves to take joint and separate action, in
co_operation with the Organization, for the achievement of one of the
purposes of the United Nations which is to promote and encourage universal
respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms
for all, without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion,
Considering that
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims that all human beings
are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled
to all the rights and freedoms set out therein, without distinction
of any kind, in particular as to race, colour or national origin,
Considering that
all human beings are equal before the law and are entitled to equal
protection of the law against any discrimination and against any incitement
to discrimination,
Considering that
the United Nations has condemned colonialism and all practices of segregation
and discrimination associated therewith, in whatever form and wherever
they exist, and that the Declaration on the Granting of Independence
to Colonial Countries and Peoples of 14 December 1960 (General Assembly
resolution 1514 (XV)) has affirmed and solemnly proclaimed the necessity
of bringing them to a speedy and unconditional end,
Considering that
the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination of 20 November1963 (General Assembly resolution 1904
(XVIII)) solemnly affirms the necessity of speedily eliminating racial
discrimination throughout the world in all its forms and manifestations
and of securing understanding of and respect for the dignity of the
human person,
Convinced that any
doctrine of superiority based on racial differentiation is scientifically
false, morally condemnable, socially unjust and dangerous, and that
there is no justification for racial discrimination, in theory or in
practice, anywhere,
Reaffirming that
discrimination between human beings on the grounds of race, colour or
ethnic origin is an obstacle to friendly and peaceful relations among
nations and is capable of disturbing peace and security among peoples
and the harmony of persons living side by side even within one and the
same State,
Convinced that the
existence of racial barriers is repugnant to the ideals of any human
society,
Alarmed by manifestations
of racial discrimination still in evidence in some areas of the world
and by governmental policies based on racial superiority or hatred,
such as policies of apartheid, segregation or separation,
Resolved to adopt
all necessary measures for speedily eliminating racial discrimination
in all its forms and manifestations, and to prevent and combat racist
doctrines and practices in order to promote understanding between races
and to build an international community free from all forms of racial
segregation and racial discrimination,
Bearing in mind
the Convention concerning Discrimination in respect of Employment and
Occupation adopted by the International Labour Organisation in 1958,
and the Convention against Discrimination in Education adopted by the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in
1960,
Desiring to implement
the principles embodied in the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination
of Al l Forms of Racial Discrimination and to secure the earliest adoption
of practical measures to that end,
Have agreed as follows:
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PART I
Article 1
1. In this
Convention, the term "racial discrimination" shall mean any distinction,
exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent,
or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of
nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise,
on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in
the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of
public life.
2. This Convention
shall not apply to distinctions, exclusions, restrictions or preferences
made by a State Party to this Convention between citizens and non_citizens.
3. Nothing in
this Convention may be interpreted as affecting in any way the legal
provisions of States Parties concerning nationality, citizenship
or naturalization, provided that such provisions do not discriminate
against any particular nationality.
4. Special
measures taken for the sole purpose of securing adequate advancement
of certain racial or ethnic groups or individuals requiring such
protection as may be necessary in order to ensure such groups or
individuals equal enjoyment or exercise of human rights and fundamental
freedoms shall not be deemed racial discrimination, provided, however,
that such measures do not, as a consequence, lead to the maintenance
of separate rights for different racial groups and that they shall
not be continued after the objectives for which they were taken
have been achieved.
Article 2
1. States Parties
condemn racial discrimination and undertake to pursue by all appropriate
means and without delay a policy of eliminating racial discrimination
in all its forms and promoting understanding among all races, and,
to this end:
(a) Each
State Party undertakes to engage in no act or practice of racial
discrimination against persons, groups of persons or institutions
and to en sure that all public authorities and public institutions,
national and local, shall act in conformity with this obligation;
(b) Each
State Party undertakes not to sponsor, defend or support racial
discrimination by any persons or organizations;
(c) Each
State Party shall take effective measures to review governmental,
national and local policies, and to amend, rescind or nullify
any laws and regulations which have the effect of creating or
perpetuating racial discrimination wherever it exists;
(d) Each
State Party shall prohibit and bring to an end, by all appropriate
means, including legislation as required by circumstances, racial
discrimination by any persons, group or organization;
(e) Each
State Party undertakes to encourage, where appropriate, integrationist
multiracial organizations and movements and other means of eliminating
barriers between races, and to discourage anything which tends
to strengthen racial division.
2. States Parties
shall, when the circumstances so warrant, take, in the social, economic,
cultural and other fields, special and concrete measures to ensure
the adequate development and protection of certain racial groups
or individuals belonging to them, for the purpose of guaranteeing
them the full and equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental
freedoms. These measures shall in no case en tail as a con sequence
the maintenance of unequal or separate rights for different racial
groups after the objectives for which they were taken have been
achieved.
Article 3
States Parties
particularly condemn racial segregation and apartheid and undertake
to prevent, prohibit and eradicate all practices of this nature
in territories under their jurisdiction.
Article 4
States Parties
condemn all propaganda and all organizations which are based on
ideas or theories of superiority of one race or group of persons
of one colour or ethnic origin, or which attempt to justify or promote
racial hatred and discrimination in any form, and undertake to adopt
immediate and positive measures designed to eradicate all incitement
to, or acts of, such discrimination and, to this end, with due regard
to the principles embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and the rights expressly set forth in article 5 of this Convention,
inter alia:
(a) Shall
declare an offence punishable by law all dissemination of ideas
based on racial superiority or hatred, incitement to racial discrimination,
as well as all acts of violence or incitement to such acts against
any race or group of persons of another colour or ethnic origin,
and also the provision of any assistance to racist activities,
including the financing thereof;
(b) Shall
declare illegal and prohibit organizations, and also organized
and all other propaganda activities, which promote and incite
racial discrimination, and shall recognize participation in such
organizations or activities as an offence punishable by law;
(c) Shall
not permit public authorities or public institutions, national
or local, to promote or incite racial discrimination.
Article 5
In compliance
with the fundamental obligations laid down in article 2 of this
Convention, States Parties undertake to prohibit and to eliminate
racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right
of everyone, without distinction as to race, colour, or national
or ethnic origin, to equality before the law, notably in the enjoyment
of the following rights:
(a) The right
to equal treatment before the tribunals and all other organs administering
justice;
(b) The right
to security of person and protection by the State against violence
or bodily harm, whether inflicted by government officials or by
any individual group or institution;
(c) Political
rights, in particular the right to participate in elections_to
vote and to stand for election_on the basis of universal and equal
suffrage, to take part in the Government as well as in the conduct
of public affairs at any level and to have equal access to public
service;
(d) Other
civil rights, in particular:
(i) The
right to freedom of movement and residence within the border
of the State;
(ii) The
right to leave any country, including one's own, and to return
to one's country;
(iii) The
right to nationality;
(iv) The
right to marriage and choice of spouse;
(v) The
right to own property alone as well as in association with others;
(vi) The
right to inherit;
(vii) The
right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion;
(viii)
The right to freedom of opinion and expression;
(ix) The
right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association;
(e) Economic,
social and cultural rights, in particular:
(i) The
rights to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable
conditions of work, to protection against unemployment, to equal
pay for equal work, to just and favourable remuneration;
(ii) The
right to form and join trade unions;
(iii) The
right to housing; (iv) The right to public health, medical care,
social security and social services;
(v) The
right to education and training;
(vi) The
right to equal participation in cultural activities;
(f) The right
of access to any place or service intended for use by the general
public, such as transport hotels, restaurants, cafes, theatres
and parks.
Article 6
States Parties
shall assure to everyone within their jurisdiction effective protection
and remedies, through the competent national tribunals and other
State institutions, against any acts of racial discrimination which
violate his human rights and fundamental freedoms contrary to this
Convention, as well as the right to seek from such tribunals just
and adequate reparation or satisfaction for any damage suffered
as a result of such discrimination.
Article 7
States Parties
undertake to adopt immediate and effective measures, particularly
in the fields of teaching, education, culture and information, with
a view to combating prejudices which lead to racial discrimination
and to promoting understanding, tolerance and friendship among nations
and racial or ethnical groups, as well as to propagating the purposes
and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Declaration on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and this Convention.
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PART II
Article 8
1. There shall
be established a Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
(hereinafter referred to as the Committee) consisting of eighteen
experts of high moral standing and acknowledged impartiality elected
by States Parties from among their nationals, who shall serve in
their personal capacity, consideration being given to equitable
geographical distribution and to the representation of the different
forms of civilization as well as of the principal legal systems.
2. The members
of the Committee shall be elected by secret ballot from a list of
persons nominated by the States Parties. Each State Party may nominate
one person from among its own nationals.
3. The initial
election shall be held six months after the date of the entry into
force of this Convention. At least three months before the date
of each election the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall
address a letter to the States Parties inviting them to submit their
nominations within two months. The Secretary-General shall prepare
a list in alphabetical order of all persons thus nominated, indicating
the States Parties which have nominated them, and shall submit it
to the States Parties.
4. Elections
of the members of the Committee shall be held at a meeting of States
Parties convened by the Secretary-General at United Nations Headquarters.
At that meeting, for which two thirds of the States Parties shall
constitute a quorum, the persons elected to the Committee shall
be nominees who obtain the largest number of votes and an absolute
majority of the votes of the representatives of States Parties present
and voting.
5.
(a) The members
of the Committee shall be elected for a term of four years. However,
the terms of nine of the members elected at the first election
shall expire at the end of two years; immediately after the first
election the names of these nine members shall be chosen by lot
by the Chairman of the Committee;
(b) For the
filling of casual vacancies, the State Party whose expert has
ceased to function as a member of the Committee shall appoint
another expert from among its nationals, subject to the approval
of the Committee.
6. States Parties
shall be responsible for the expenses of the members of the Committee
while they are in performance of Committee duties.
Article 9
1. States Parties
undertake to submit to the Secretary-General of the United Nations,
for consideration by the Committee, a report on the legislative,
judicial, administrative or other measures which they have adopted
and which give effect to the provisions of this Convention:
(a) within
one year after the entry into force of the Convention for the
State concerned; and
(b) thereafter
every two years and whenever the Committee so requests. The Committee
may request further information from the States Parties.
2. The Committee
shall report annually, through the Secretary General, to the General
Assembly of the United Nations on its activities and may make suggestions
and general recommendations based on the examination of the reports
and information received from the States Parties. Such suggestions
and general recommendations shall be reported to the General Assembly
together with comments, if any, from States Parties.
Article 10
1. The Committee
shall adopt its own rules of procedure.
2. The Committee
shall elect its officers for a term of two years.
3. The secretariat
of the Committee shall be provided by the Secretary General of the
United Nations.
4. The meetings
of the Committee shall normally be held at United Nations Headquarters.
Article 11
1. If a State
Party considers that another State Party is not giving effect to
the provisions of this Convention, it may bring the matter to the
attention of the Committee. The Committee shall then transmit the
communication to the State Party concerned. Within three months,
the receiving State shall submit to the Committee written explanations
or statements clarifying the matter and the remedy, if any, that
may have been taken by that State.
2. If the matter
is not adjusted to the satisfaction of both parties, either by bilateral
negotiations or by any other procedure open to them, within six
months after the receipt by the receiving State of the initial communication,
either State shall have the right to refer the matter again to the
Committee by notifying the Committee and also the other State.
3. The Committee
shall deal with a matter referred to it in accordance with paragraph
2 of this article after it has ascertained that all available domestic
remedies have been invoked and exhausted in the case, in conformity
with the generally recognized principles of international law. This
shall not be the rule where the application of the remedies is unreasonably
prolonged.
4. In any matter
referred to it, the Committee may call upon the States Parties concerned
to supply any other relevant information.
5. When any
matter arising out of this article is being considered by the Committee,
the States Parties concerned shall be entitled to send a representative
to take part in the proceedings of the Committee, without voting
rights, while the matter is under consideration.
Article 12
1.
(a) After
the Committee has obtained and collated all the information it
deems necessary, the Chairman shall appoint an ad hoc Conciliation
Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Commission) comprising
five persons who may or may not be members of the Committee. The
members of the Commission shall be appointed with the unanimous
consent of the parties to the dispute, and its good offices shall
be made available to the States concerned with a view to an amicable
solution of the matter on the basis of respect for this Convention;
(b) If the
States parties to the dispute fail to reach agreement within three
months on all or part of the composition of the Commission, the
members of the Commission not agreed upon by the States parties
to the dispute shall be elected by secret ballot by a two_thirds
majority vote of the Committee from among its own members.
2. The members
of the Commission shall serve in their personal capacity. They shall
not be nationals of the States parties to the dispute or of a State
not Party to this Convention.
3. The Commission
shall elect its own Chairman and adopt its own rules of procedure.
4. The meetings
of the Commission shall normally be held at United Nations Headquarters
or at any other convenient place as determined by the Commission.
5. The secretariat
provided in accordance with article 10, paragraph 3, of this Convention
shall also service the Commission whenever a dispute among States
Parties brings the Commission into being.
6. The States
parties to the dispute shall share equally all the expenses of the
members of the Commission in accordance with estimates to be provided
by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
7. The Secretary-General
shall be empowered to pay the expenses of the members of the Commission,
if necessary, before reimbursement by the States parties to the
dispute in accordance with paragraph 6 of this article.
8. The information
obtained and collated by the Committee shall be made available to
the Commission, and the Commission may call upon the States concerned
to supply any other relevant information.
Article 13
1. When the
Commission has fully considered the matter, it shall prepare and
submit to the Chairman of the Committee a report embodying its findings
on all questions of fact relevant to the issue between the parties
and containing such recommendations as it may think proper for the
amicable solution of the dispute.
2. The Chairman
of the Committee shall communicate the report of the Commission
to each of the States parties to the dispute. These States shall,
within three months, inform the Chairman of the Committee whether
or not they accept the recommendations contained in the report of
the Commission.
3. After the
period provided for in paragraph 2 of this article, the Chairman
of the Committee shall communicate the report of the Commission
and the declarations of the States Parties concerned to the other
States Parties to this Convention.
Article 14
1. A State
Party may at any time declare that it recognizes the competence
of the Committee to receive and consider communications from individuals
or groups of individuals within its jurisdiction claiming to be
victims of a violation by that State Party of any of the rights
set forth in this Convention. No communication shall be received
by the Committee if it concerns a State Party which has not made
such a declaration.
2. Any State
Party which makes a declaration as provided for in paragraph I of
this article may establish or indicate a body within its national
legal order which shall be competent to receive and consider petitions
from individuals and groups of individuals within its jurisdiction
who claim to be victims of a violation of any of the rights set
forth in this Convention and who have exhausted other available
local remedies.
3. A declaration
made in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article and the name
of any body established or indicated in accordance with paragraph
2 of this article shall be deposited by the State Party concerned
with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall transmit
copies thereof to the other States Parties. A declaration may be
withdrawn at any time by notification to the Secretary-General,
but such a withdrawal shall not affect communications pending before
the Committee.
4. A register
of petitions shall be kept by the body established or indicated
in accordance with paragraph 2 of this article, and certified copies
of the register shall be filed annually through appropriate channels
with the Secretary-General on the understanding that the contents
shall not be publicly disclosed.
5. In the event
of failure to obtain satisfaction from the body established or indicated
in accordance with paragraph 2 of this article, the petitioner shall
have the right to communicate the matter to the Committee within
six months.
6.
(a) The Committee
shall confidentially bring any communication referred to it to
the attention of the State Party alleged to be violating any provision
of this Convention, but the identity of the individual or groups
of individuals concerned shall not be revealed without his or
their express consent. The Committee shall not receive anonymous
communications;
(b) Within
three months, the receiving State shall submit to the Committee
written explanations or statements clarifying the matter and the
remedy, if any, that may have been taken by that State.
7.
(a) The Committee
shall consider communications in the light of all information
made available to it by the State Party concerned and by the petitioner.
The Committee shall not consider any communication from a petitioner
unless it has ascertained that the petitioner has exhausted all
available domestic remedies. However, this shall not be the rule
where the application of the remedies is unreasonably prolonged;
(b) The Committee
shall forward its suggestions and recommendations, if any, to
the State Party concerned and to the petitioner.
8. The Committee
shall include in its annual report a summary of such communications
and, where appropriate, a summary of the explanations and statements
of the States Parties concerned and of its own suggestions and recommendations.
9. The Committee
shall be competent to exercise the functions provided for in this
article only when at least ten States Parties to this Convention
are bound by declarations in accordance with paragraph I of this
article.
Article 15
1. Pending
the achievement of the objectives of the Declaration on the Granting
of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, contained in
General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, the provisions
of this Convention shall in no way limit the right of petition granted
to these peoples by other international instruments or by the United
Nations and its specialized agencies.
2.
(a) The Committee
established under article 8, paragraph 1, of this Convention shall
receive copies of the petitions from, and submit expressions of
opinion and recommendations on these petitions to, the bodies
of the United Nations which deal with matters directly related
to the principles and objectives of this Convention in their consideration
of petitions from the inhabitants of Trust and Non-Self-Governing
Territories and all other territories to which General Assembly
resolution 1514 (XV) applies, relating to matters covered by this
Convention which are before these bodies;
(b) The Committee
shall receive from the competent bodies of the United Nations
copies of the reports concerning the legislative, judicial, administrative
or other measures directly related to the principles and objectives
of this Convention applied by the administering Powers within
the Territories mentioned in subparagraph (a) of this paragraph,
and shall express opinions and make recommendations to these bodies.
3. The Committee
shall include in its report to the General Assembly a summary of
the petitions and reports it has received from United Nations bodies,
and the expressions of opinion and recommendations of the Committee
relating to the said petitions and reports.
4. The Committee
shall request from the Secretary-General of the United Nations all
information relevant to the objectives of this Convention and available
to him regarding the Territories mentioned in paragraph 2 (a) of
this article.
Article 16
The provisions
of this Convention concerning the settlement of disputes or complaints
shall be applied without prejudice to other procedures for settling
disputes or complaints in the field of discrimination laid down
in the constituent instruments of, or conventions adopted by, the
United Nations and its specialized agencies, and shall not prevent
the States Parties from having recourse to other procedures for
settling a dispute in accordance with general or special international
agreements in force between them.
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PART III
Article 17
1. This Convention
is open for signature by any State Member of the United Nations
or member of any of its specialized agencies, by any State Party
to the Statute of the International Court of Justice, and by any
other State which has been invited by the General Assembly of the
United Nations to become a Party to this Convention.
2. This Convention
is subject to ratification. Instruments of ratification shall be
deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Article 18
1. This Convention
shall be open to accession by any State referred to in article 17,
paragraph 1, of the Convention.
2. Accession
shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession with
the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Article 19
1. This Convention
shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date of the
deposit with the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the
twenty-seventh instrument of ratification or instrument of accession.
2. For each
State ratifying this Convention or acceding to it after the deposit
of the twenty-seventh instrument of ratification or instrument of
accession, the Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth
day after the date of the deposit of its own instrument of ratification
or instrument of accession.
Article 20
1. The Secretary-General
of the United Nations shall receive and circulate to all States
which are or may become Parties to this Convention reservations
made by States at the time of ratification or accession. Any State
which objects to the reservation shall, within a period of ninety
days from the date of the said communication, notify the Secretary-General
that it does not accept it.
2. A reservation
incompatible with the object and purpose of this Convention shall
not be permitted, nor shall a reservation the effect of which would
inhibit the operation of any of the bodies established by this Convention
be allowed. A reservation shall be considered incompatible or inhibitive
if at least two thirds of the States Parties to this Convention
object to it.
3. Reservations
may be withdrawn at any time by notification to this effect addressed
to the Secretary-General. Such notification shall take effect on
the date on which it is received.
Article 21
A State Party
may denounce this Convention by written notification to the Secretary-General
of the United Nations. Denunciation shall take effect one year after
the date of receipt of the notification by the Secretary General.
Article 22
Any dispute
between two or more States Parties with respect to the interpretation
or application of this Convention, which is not settled by negotiation
or by the procedures expressly provided for in this Convention,
shall, at the request of any of the parties to the dispute, be referred
to the International Court of Justice for decision, unless the disputants
agree to another mode of settlement.
Article 23
1. A request
for the revision of this Convention may be made at any time by any
State Party by means of a notification in writing addressed to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations.
2. The General
Assembly of the United Nations shall decide upon the steps, if any,
to be taken in respect of such a request.
Article 24
The Secretary-General
of the United Nations shall inform all States referred to in article
17, paragraph 1, of this Convention of the following particulars:
(a) Signatures,
ratifications and accessions under articles 17 and 18;
(b) The date
of entry into force of this Convention under article 19;
(c) Communications
and declarations received under articles 14, 20 and 23;
(d) Denunciations
under article 21.
Article 25
1. This Convention,
of which the Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts
are equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the
United Nations.
2. The Secretary-General
of the United Nations shall transmit certified copies of this Convention
to all States belonging to any of the categories mentioned in article
17, paragraph 1, of the Convention.
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