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UNITED NATIONS

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination

NEW YORK 7 March 1966

Contents

Introduction

PART
I
Articles [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

PART
II
Articles [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

PART
III
Articles [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25]

Conclusion

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 November 1963 (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 in 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 All Forms of Racial Discrimination and
to secure the earliest adoption of practical measures to that end,

Have agreed as follows:

PART I

Article 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.

This Convention shall not apply to distinctions, exclusions,
restrictions or preferences made by a State Party to this Convention
between citizens and non-citizens.

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.

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

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 ensure 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 multi-racial organizations and movements and other
means of eliminating barriers between races, and to discourage
anything which tends to strengthen racial division.

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 entail as a
consequence 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 rights 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.

PART II

Article 8

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.

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.

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.

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 those nominees who obtain the largest number of votes and an
absolute majority of the votes of the representatives of States Parties
present and voting.

(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.

States Parties shall be responsible for the expenses of the members
of the Committee while they are in performance of Committee duties.

Article 9

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.

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

The Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

The Committee shall elect its officers for a term of two years.

The secretariat of the Committee shall be
provided by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The meetings of the Committee shall normally be held at United
Nations Headquarters.

Article 11

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.

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.

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.

In any matter referred to it, the Committee may call upon the States
Parties concerned to supply any other relevant information.

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

(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.

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.

The Commission shall elect its own Chairman and adopt its own rules
of procedure.

The meetings of the Commission shall normally be held at United
Nations Headquarters or at any other convenient place as determined by
the Commission.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

Any State Party which makes a declaration as
provided for in paragraph 1 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.

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.

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.

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.

(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.

(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.

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.

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 1 of
this article.

Article 15

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.

(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 sub-paragraph
(a) of this
paragraph, and shall express opinions and make recommendations to
these bodies.

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.

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 in 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.

PART III

Article 17

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.

This Convention is subject to ratification. Instruments of
ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations.

Article 18

This Convention shall be open to accession by any State referred to
in article 17,
paragraph
1, of the Convention.

Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of
accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article 19

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.

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

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.

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.

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
negociation 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

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.

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

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.

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.

IN FAITH WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto by
their respective Governments, have signed the present Convention, opened
for signature at New York, on the seventh day of March, one thousand nine
hundred and sixty-six.

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