A guide describing the international convention on elimination of racial discrimination has been published by Minority Rights Group International and International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR). The author of the guide is Atsuko Tanaka, assisted by Yoshinobu Nagamine. It has special inputs by Theo van Boven, member of IMADR’s Board of Directors. The guide aims to showcase and analyse the work done by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), and help NGOs that are working against racial discrimination.
The guide primarily explains the work of CERD, stressing its role in influencing government policies and practices. The guide shows how the Committee proves to be an important tool to spread awareness internationally, and to pressurize governments and other key players in the realm of racial discrimination. The guide has two parts: Part 1attempts to explain the provisions of International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), in a simple language that can be easily understood by activists and NGO workers. Along with it, the guide also explains the methodology of CERD.
Part 2 of the guide explains how NGOs can prove to be instrumental in eliminating racial discrimination, and what role do they play in the working of CERD. It also provides instructions to NGOs and activists on how to use the provisions given in the Convention, to fight against discrimination.
The guide contains official UN document and opinions of experts of the Committee, along with some case studies describing the experiences and work of some NGOs with CERD.The guide can prove to be quite an effective tool that can be used by activists and NGOs in their fight against discrimination, as it provides comprehensive knowledge of CERD and the Convention.
You can download the guide from this link.
