The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).

Introduction

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD)

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD) places an onus on UN member states who are party to the Convention ‘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’. The convention covers the legislative, judicial, administrative or other measures that need to be implemented to give effect to its provisions. It was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 21 December, 1965 and entered into force on 2 January, 1969 in accordance with Article 19. As of 18 July, 2007, the convention has been ratified or acceded to by 173 States.

Ireland and the ICERD

Ireland signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1968. Following the enactment of the Employment Equality Act 1998 and the Equal Status Act 2000, the convention was ratified by Ireland in December 2000 and entered into force in January 2001.

Reporting on Progress

Under Article 9 of the convention, Ireland is required to submit periodic reports to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD Committee) on the legislative, judicial and other measures which have been adopted to give effect to the provisions of the convention. Ireland submitted its First National Report in March 2004, subsequently deemed by the UNCERD Committee as the Initial and Second Periodic Report. NGOs were also invited to submit a shadow report setting out their views on how Ireland was fulfilling its obligations under the convention.

In March 2005, Mr. Frank Fahey T.D., the then Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform, headed an Irish delegation to the UN in Geneva for a dialogue with the UN CERD Committee on Ireland’s Initial and Second Periodic Report. Later that month, the UNCERD Committee published the Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination – Ireland in relation to this report. The observations contained a number of recommendations for further action in relation to Ireland’s implementation of the convention.

In June 2006, Ireland underwent a follow-up process. To facilitate this, Ireland prepared an update for Mr. Morten Kjaerum, the follow-up coordinator, on the recommendations of the UNCERD Committee. Following his visit here, Mr. Kjaerum submitted a report of his follow-up visit. The report was formally adopted by the UNCERD Committee.

Ireland's Combined Third and Fourth Report to the UNCERD Committee.

The Office of the Minister for Integration undertook responsibility for the co-ordination and transmission of Ireland's Combined Third and Fourth Report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The report was transmitted to the Uncerd Committee on 22 December 2009. All relevant Government Departments were consulted and contributed material for the report.

Civil society groups and members of the public were also invited to submit relevant comments which were used to inform the preparation of the report. A consultation meeting with Civil society was undertaken in late 2008. The meeting was chaired by an independent expert and a report of the meeting was drawn up by an independent rapporteur. Some of the views expressed at this meeting are included in Part IV of the Combined Report.

The report will be examined by the Uncerd Committee in due course (probably February/March 2011). The examination is public and takes place in the presence of State representatives.

The Committee welcomes representations made to it by non- governmental organisations, both domestic and international, and by individuals, in advance of a public examination of the national report.




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