COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION SAYS SITUATION IN LIBERIA WITH RESPECT TO TREATY IS EXTREMELY GRAVE

CERD
59th session
14 August 2001
Afternoon





Discusses Miscellaneous Issues


The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this afternoon adopted a decision concerning Liberia, saying that it considered the situation in the country to be extremely grave with respect to the implementation of the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

The Committee, after reviewing the situation in Liberia in the absence of a report from the Government that has not submitted one since it ratified the Convention in 1976, urged the Liberian Government to take immediate and effective measures to fulfil its obligations under the Convention, including its reporting obligations; and expressed its willingness to send one or more of its members to visit Liberia with a view to initiating a dialogue with the Government of Liberia and assisting it in fulfilling its obligations under the Convention.

In a letter addressed to the Liberian Government which accompanied the decision and the concluding observations and recommendations, the Committee emphasized its very serious concerns regarding the nature and extent of racial discrimination in Liberia.

The Committee also adopted the remaining paragraphs of its concluding observations and recommendations on the situation of Liberia, in which it recommended that Liberia facilitated access to and ensured the effectiveness of courts and administrative bodies in enforcing the rights of racial and ethnic groups to be free from discrimination. (For the first part of the conclusions on the situation of Liberia, see press release HR/CERD/01/52).

Also this afternoon, the Committee discussed comments made by its open-ended Working Group on a 900-page report compiled by a Canadian academician with regard to the United Nations treaty bodies. The report, written by Anne Bayefsky, who lectured in political science at York University in Toronto, Canada, was entitled "The UN Human Rights Treaty System: Universality at the Crossroads". The Working Group strongly rejected the report's allegations of bias in its concluding observations on State reports, and equally resented the allegation that its early warning procedures were driven by political considerations. It said the report had been utilized by at least one Government to deliver a political critique of the Committee. The Working Group concluded that regrettably, any merits in the report as a whole were outweighed by a distorted account of the Committee's work, which did not accurately reflect its particular and significant contribution to the improvement of human rights.

Participating in the debate were Committee members Michael E. Sherifis, Raghavan Vasudevan Pillai, Francois Lonseny Fall, Luis Valencia Rodriguez, Mario Jorge Yutzis, Carlos Lechuga Hevia, Marc Boussuyt, Regis de Gouttes, Tang Chengyuan and Patrick Thornberry.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 15 August, it is scheduled to adopt its final conclusions and observations on the reports of Viet Nam and Ukraine.

Decision on Liberia

In a decision on the situation in Liberia, the Committee said it considered the situation in that country to be extremely grave with respect to the implementation of the Convention; it urged the Government of Liberia to take immediate and effective measures to fulfil its obligations under the Convention, including its reporting obligations under article 9; and it expressed its willingness to send one or more of its members to visit Liberia with a view to initiating a dialogue with the Government of Liberia and assisting it in fulfilling its obligations under the Convention.

Remaining Concluding Observations and Recommendations on Situation in Liberia

The Committee also adopted the remaining paragraphs of its concluding observations and recommendations on the situation in Liberia, in which it recommended that Liberia facilitated access to and ensured the effectiveness of courts and administrative bodies in endorsing the rights of racial and ethnic groups to be free from discrimination; it considered the situation in Liberia to be extremely grave from the point of view of implementation of the Convention; it decided to send a letter to the State party conveying its deep concern and expressing its willingness to send one or more of its members to visit Liberia with a view to initiating a dialogue with the State party and assisting it in fulfilling its obligations under the Convention.

On Trinidad and Tobago

The Committee discussed a letter it received from the Permanent Mission of Trinidad and Tobago to the United Nations Office at Geneva, which demanded an amendment of the concluding observations and recommendations concerning that country which had already been adopted by the Committee. After a lengthy debate on whether to accept the request or not, the Committee decided not to agree to it.



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