The UN committee on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination: Race, and economic and social human rights

Human Rights Quarterly

Volumn 24, Issue 1, 2002, Pages 205-236

  Felice, William F ^a,b  

^a ECKERD COLLEGE   (United States)

^b NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ETHNIC MINORITY; HUMAN RIGHTS; RACIAL DISPARITY; UNITED NATIONS;

EID: 0036176677     PISSN: 02750392     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1353/hrq.2002.0009     Document Type: Article

References (149)

1. See WILLIAM F. FELICE, TAKING SUFFERING SERIOUSLY: THE IMPORTANCE OF COLLECTIVE HUMAN RIGHTS (1996).
2. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, adopted 21 Dec. 1965, 660 U.N.T.S. 195 (entered into force 4 Jan. 1969), reprinted in 5 I.L.M. 352 (1966) [hereinafter CERD].
3. UNITED NATIONS: LAW, POLICIES AND PRACTICE 1005-06 (Rüdiger Wolfrum ed., 1995).
4. Natalie Angler, Do Races Differ? Not Really, Genes Show, N.Y. TIMES, 22 Aug. 2000, at F1.
5. Id.
6. Kevin Danaher, Getting at Hunger's Roots: The Legacy of Colonialism and Racism, in THE COLOR OF HUNGER: RACE AND HUNGER IN NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE 89-91 (David L. Shields ed., 1995).
7. PHILIP BOUREVITCH, WE WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT TOMORROW WE WILL BE KILLED WITH OUR FAMILIES 47-48 (1998).
8. See id.
9. See Centre for Human Rights, Report of the Seminar on the Political, Historical, Economic, Social and Cultural Factors Contributing to Racism, Racial Discrimination and Apartheid, U.N. Doc. HR/PUB/91/3 (1991). The Seminar affirms that racial discrimination means 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.
10. Id. at 23.
11. Danaher, supra note 6, at 91. For statistics on the racial dimensions of child poverty, see Marc Miringoff & Marque-Luisa Miringoff, THE SOCIAL HEALTH OF THE NATION: HOW AMERICA IS REALLY DOING 83 (1999).
12. Danaher, supra note 6, at 91. For statistics on the racial dimensions of child poverty, see Marc Miringoff & Marque-Luisa Miringoff, THE SOCIAL HEALTH OF THE NATION: HOW AMERICA IS REALLY DOING 83 (1999).
13. James Gustave Speth, The Plight of the Poor: The United States Must Increase Development Aid, 78 FOREIGN AFF. 14 (May/June 1999).
14. See id.
15. THE WORLD BANK, WORLD DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2000/2001: ATTACKING POVERTY 3 (2001).
16. Christopher S. Wren, U.N. Report Maps Hunger "Hot Spots," N.Y. TIMES, 9 Jan. 2001, at A8; see also Map of Global Hunger, Figure 1.1, in HUNGER IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY 11 (1997).
17. Christopher S. Wren, U.N. Report Maps Hunger "Hot Spots," N.Y. TIMES, 9 Jan. 2001, at A8; see also Map of Global Hunger, Figure 1.1, in HUNGER IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY 11 (1997).
18. See id.
19. See id.
20. Blacks Lead the Way in Income Growth, ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 10 Oct. 1998, at E1.
21. Sylvia Nasar & Kirsten B. Mitchell, Booming Job Market Draws Young Black Men Into Fold, N.Y. TIMES, 23 May 1999, at I1.
22. See id.
23. Fox Butterfield, More Blacks in Their 20s Have Trouble With the Law, N.Y. TIMES, 5 Oct. 1995, at A18.
24. Fox Butterfield, Number of Inmates Reaches Record 1.8 Million, N.Y. TIMES, 15 Mar. 1999, at A14.
25. MARC MIRINGOFF & MARQUE-LUISA MIRINGOFF, THE SOCIAL HEALTH OF THE NATION: HOW AMERICA IS REALLY DOING 66-71; 80-85 (1999).
26. Report: Low Pay, Benefits Still Plague U.S. Hispanics, ST. PETERSBURG Times, 5 July 2000, at A3.
27. See id.
28. See id.
29. Throughout the article, I will use the standard acronym to refer to each of the treaties and, when the acronym for the relevant Committee is similar or identical, add the word Committee to avoid confusion. Thus, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination becomes CERD and the committee established under it becomes the CERD Committee.
30. See CERD, supra note 2.
31. See id. art. 8.
32. See id.
33. See id.
34. Michael Banton, Decision-Taking in the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in THE FUTURE OF UN HUMAN RIGHTS TREATY MONITORING 60 (Philip Alston & James Crawford eds., 2000).
35. See id.
36. See CERD, supra note 2, at art. 1(1).
37. See id.
38. See id. art. 5(e).
39. Interview with Cecilia Möller, Human Rights Officer, Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, in Geneva, Switz. (6 June 2000).
40. Karl Josef Partsch, The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in THE UNITED NATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS 360 (Philip Alston ed., 1992).
41. Id.
42. See Drew Mahalic & Joan Gambee Mahalic, The Limitation Provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 9 HUM. RTS. Q. 74, 82-83 (1987).
43. See CERD, supra note 2, at art. 2.
44. Theodor Meron, The Meaning and Reach of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, 79 AM. J. INT'L L. 287 (1985) (emphasis added).
45. CERD, supra note 2.
46. See Meron, supra note 41, at 288-89.
47. The CERD Committee decided in 1990 that after the submission of an initial comprehensive report, states should submit further comprehensive reports every four years and brief updating reports in the intervening two-year periods.
48. OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, MANUAL ON HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTING 267-304 (1997).
49. See id.
50. See Id.
51. See id.
52. See CERD, supra note 2, at art. 14.
53. Ratification information for the principle human rights treaties is available at 〈http://www.unhchr.ch/pdf/report.pdf〉 (visited 7 Nov. 2001).
54. Möller, supra note 36.
55. See id.
56. See id.
57. Banton, supra note 31, at 67.
58. Recent Reporting History Under the Principal International Human Rights Instruments as of 31 March 2000, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, U.N. Doc. HRI/GEN/4, at 332 (27 Apr. 2000).
59. It should be noted that the CERD Committee is the oldest treaty body committee, which partially explains its large number of overdue states parties reports in comparison with the other treaty body committees. The treaty body committee with the second most overdue reports is CEDAW Committee with 236 late as of 31 March 2000.
60. Möller, supra note 36.
61. See id.
62. See id.
63. See id.
64. See Stefanie Grant, The United States and the International Human Rights Treaty System: For Export Only?, in THE FUTURE OF UN HUMAN RIGHTS TREATY MONITORING 317-29 (Philip Alston & James Crawford eds., 2000).
65. See id.
66. Initial Report of the United States of America to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Sept. 2000, at 17-18, 76; available on 〈http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/usdocs/cerdinitial.html〉 (visited 8 Nov. 2001).
67. See id. at 17-18.
68. See id. at 18.
69. See id. at 18-19.
70. See id. at 76.
71. See id. at 66.
72. See id.
73. See id.
74. See id. at 40-41, 66.
75. See id. at 75-76.
76. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted 16 Dec. 1966, G.A. Res. 2200 (XXI), U.N. GAOR, 21st Sess., Supp. No. 16, art. 11, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 993 U.N.T.S. 3 (entered into force 3 Jan. 1976).
77. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, 50th Sess., Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Panama, U.N. Doc. CERD/C/304/Add.32 (23 Apr. 1997) (on file with author).
78. See id.
79. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights states: "In a document prepared for the World Summit for Social Development, the [Panamanian] Government reports one of the worst distributions of income in the world and very high rates of unemployment and underemployment, estimating that about half the population of the country lives in poverty." Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 12th Sess., Concluding Observations: Report on the Technical Assistance Mission: Panama, para. 18, U.N. Doc. E/C.12/1995/8 (20 June 1995) [hereinafter Concluding Observations/Comments].
80. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Mapping Undernutrition - An Ongoing Process (1996); see also BREAD FOR THE WORLD INSTITUTE (BWI), HUNGER IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY: HUNGER 1998, EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT ON THE STATE OF WORLD HUNGER 100 (1997).
81. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Mapping Undernutrition - An Ongoing Process (1996); see also BREAD FOR THE WORLD INSTITUTE (BWI), HUNGER IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY: HUNGER 1998, EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT ON THE STATE OF WORLD HUNGER 100 (1997).
82. See Concluding Observations/Comments, supra note 76.
83. See id.
84. Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, 54th Sess. & 55th Sess., U.N. Doc. A/54/18 (29 Sept. 1999).
85. See id.
86. See id.
87. See id.
88. See id. at paras. 61, 80, 130, 164, 201, 286, 307, and 514.
89. See Banton, supra note 31, at 71.
90. MANUAL ON HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTING, supra note 45, at 293-95
91. See id.
92. See id. at 294.
93. Interviews at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, June 2000.
94. See id.; see also Philip Alston, Final Report on Enhancing the Long-term Effectiveness of the United Nations Human Rights Treaty System, U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/1997/74 (7 Mar. 1997). Alston estimates that somewhere between four and twenty-four years would be required to review all state reports overdue, if they were to be submitted forthwith
95. See id.
96. Mary Robinson, Development and Rights: The Undeniable Nexus, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 26 June 2000, available at 〈http://www.pcpafg.org/organizations/Human_rights/nexus.htm〉 (visited 14 Nov. 2001).
97. UNDP, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2000, AT 20 (2000).
98. See AMARTYA SEN, INEQUALITY REEXAMINED 4-5, 39 (1992)
99. See id.
100. Id. at 39.
101. See id. at 49.
102. Id. at 81.
103. Id. at 81-82.
104. See id. at 33, 38.
105. Id. at 9.
106. See id. at 38.
107. Id. at 151.
108. Sen notes, for example, that the capability deprivation of African Americans cannot be explained solely through an examination of income figures. It is rather the result of a variety of factors, including: problems of health care, education, and urban crime. Residents of Harlem have a higher income than the average Bangladeshi citizen. Yet, according to The New England Journal of Medicine, men in the Harlem region of rich New York City have less of a chance to reach the age of forty than Bangladeshi men. Information on incomes doesn't explain this phenomena. Nor does it explain for the country as a whole why African Americans in the age group thirty-five to fifty-five year-olds have 2.3 times the mortality rate as do whites in the US. Low income is just one factor among many explaining these conditions. Sen points to other aspects of the social environment, including the inadequacy of health facilities, the violent modes of inner-city living, and the absence of social care. SEN, supra note 94, at 114-15; see also Colin McCord & Harold P. Freeman, Excess Mortality in Harlem, 332 NEW ENG. J. MED. n. 3 (Jan. 1990).
109. AMARTYA SEN, DEVELOPMENT AS FREEDOM 108 (1999).
110. Id.
111. Id.
112. Santosh Mehrotra, Social Development in High-Achieving Countries: Common Elements and Diversities, in DEVELOPMENT WITH A HUMAN FACE 29, 32 (Santosh Mehrotra & Richard Jolly eds., 1997).
113. Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1995/92, ¶ 8(d), available at 〈http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/TestFrame/ 9def7b169149c162802566f00039c284 ?Opendocument〉 (visited 14 Nov. 2001).
114. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, supra note 73.
115. MANUAL ON HUMAN RIGHTS, supra note 45, at 93.
116. Id. at 93.
117. Id. at 99, 109, 120.
118. Id. at 120.
119. Roberto Bissio, SOCIAL WATCH 1999, at 125 (1999).
120. See id.
121. Santosh Mehrotra, Health and Education Policies in High-Achieving Countries: Some Lessons, in DEVELOPMENT WITH A HUMAN FACE, supra note 108, at 64.
122. See id.
123. Bissio, supra note 115, at 118.
124. UNICEF, THE STATE OF THE WORLD'S CHILDREN 1999, at 80 (1999).
125. See id.
126. See id.
127. See id.
128. Bissio, supra note 115, at 178, 210.
129. See id.
130. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2000, supra note 93, at 33.
131. See id.
132. STATE OF THE WORLD'S CHILDREN 1999, supra note 120, at 81.
133. See id.
134. UNDP, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 1994, at 7.
135. See COPENHAGEN DECLARATION ON SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRAM OF ACTION OF THE WORLD SUMMIT FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, available at 〈http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/wssd/agreements/decparti.htm〉 (visited 7 Nov. 2001).
136. See id.
137. Felice, supra note 1, at 85-86; see also HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 1994, supra note 130, at 7, 50, 77 (1994).
138. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2000, supra note 93, at 9.
139. Caroline Wildeman, The 20/20 Initiative and the Hanoi Consensus, SOCIAL WATCH 1999, at 98 (1999).
140. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2000, supra note 93, at 9; see also UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, WHO, WORLD BANK, IMPLEMENTING THE 20/20 INITIATIVE: ACHIEVING UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO BASIC SOCIAL SERVICES 1 (UNDP et al. eds., 1998).
141. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2000, supra note 93, at 9; see also UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, WHO, WORLD BANK, IMPLEMENTING THE 20/20 INITIATIVE: ACHIEVING UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO BASIC SOCIAL SERVICES 1 (UNDP et al. eds., 1998).
142. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2000, supra note 93, at 9.
143. See id.
144. See id.
145. For statistics on defense spending and the role of government in the economy, see THE WORLD BANK, WORLD DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2000/2001: ATTACKING POVERTY, supra note 13, at 306-07.
146. See id.
147. See id.
148. CERD, Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Sessions, supra note 80.
149. Preparatory Committee, World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, First Session, Contribution of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to the Preparatory Process for the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, U.N. Doc. A/CON F.189/PC.1/14 (29 Feb. 2000).