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21 March－International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Do you know what 21st March is known for? It is the international day to call for the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination. It all started more than 60 years ago, on 21 March 1960 when police officers opened fire on a peaceful demonstration against apartheid in Sharpeville, South Africa, killing 69 people¹. Let’s join and voice out, “Ｎo space for racism.” ▼ You can find more information below <Japanese version> ¹ OHCHR: https://www.ohchr.org/en/get-involved/stories/international-day-elimination-racial-discrimination.March 18, 2024 -
3rd March: 102nd Anniversary of Suiheisha Declaration
The Voices to Fight against Intersecting Forms of Discrimination －Women’s Suiheisha－ 8th March is the international women’s day to celebrate the achievements of women and to take actions for advancing women’s equality. Although the word, gender equality, is heard more frequently than ever, true gender equality will be realised solely when it is for ‘ALL’ women because women cannot be summed up to one as people have multiple identities. It is minority women whose voices are more silenced and whose rights are more restricted. 102 years before, on 3rd March 1922 national Suiheisha was founded declaring the emancipation of Burakumin whose dignity had been deprived of. In the following […]February 28, 2024 -
Monitor for European Parliament Resolution on EU-Japan Relations
Concerning EU-Japan relations, the Committee on Foreign Affairs adopted the report by Reinhard Bütikofer with the aim to consider the status quo of its relations, including strategic partnership agreement, cooperation between people, mutual social interests, and connectivity. Section 10 of its report underscores the importance of cooperation to address issues around gender equality, women’s rights, health policies, and the rest. Also, it touches upon human rights issues existed in Japan as follows: “…. emphasises the human rights dialogue, where the EU and Japan can discuss, for example, the death penalty, which still exists in Japan and which the EU opposes fundamentally, and other human rights issues of mutual interest; […]February 9, 2024 -
CERD 108th session summary: Bahrain, Botswana, Brazil, France, Georgia, and Jamaica
From 14 November to 2 December 2022, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) held its 108th session. In this session, the Committee reviewed and adopted concluding observations on Bahrain, Botswana, Brazil, France, Georgia, and Jamaica. Additionally, the Committee examined two follow-up reports submitted by the Netherlands and Slovakia. Under its Early Warning and Urgent Action procedure, the Committee sent a letter to China in relation to the reports of human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China (XUAR). It urged the Government to investigate the complaints of human rights abuses and to release all persons arbitrarily arrested, among other measures. The Committee also […]December 20, 2022 -
Newsletter E-CONNECT No.40 is out
Feature story CERD 107th session From 8th to 30th August 2022, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) held its 107th session and reviewed implementation status of the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) in Azerbaijan, Benin, Nicaragua, Slovakia, Suriname, United States of America, and Zimbabwe. The Committee also sent letters to Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Colombia under its Early Warning and Urgent Action procedure, and released a statement on the events at the Moroccan-Spanish border. On 23 August 2022, the Committee held its Day of General Discussion on racial discrimination and right to health as a part of drafting process of its General Recommendation N° 37. More>> Passing away of Professor Mushakoji Professor Kinhide Mushakoji has exerted himself […]December 6, 2022 -
CERD 107th session summary: Azerbaijan, Benin, Nicaragua, Slovakia, Suriname, United States of America, Zimbabwe
From 8th to 30th August 2022, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) held its 107th session. At this session, the Committee reviewed and adopted concluding observations on Azerbaijan, Benin, Nicaragua, Slovakia, Suriname, United States of America, and Zimbabwe. In accordance with its follow-up procedure, the Committee did not issue any follow-up letters. The Committee sent letters to Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Colombia under its Early Warning and Urgent Action procedure. The Committee also released a statement on the tragic events at the Moroccan-Spanish border. Furthermore, on 23 August 2022, the Committee held its Day of General Discussion on racial discrimination and right to health. The inputs […]September 6, 2022 -
Newsletter E-CONNECT No.39 is out
On the 20th of May, we released our new issue of E-CONNECT. If you have not subscribed to our newsletter, you can do it from here! Back number is also available. Feature story CERD 106th session From 11th to 29th April 2022, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) held its 106th session and reviewed implementation status of the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) in Cameroon, Estonia, Kazakhstan and Luxembourg. CERD also examined follow-up reports of Czech Republic, Ireland and Peru. A statement on the lack of equitable and non-discriminatory access to COVID vaccines was adopted under the Committee’s Early Warning and Urgent Acton […]May 20, 2022 -
CERD 106th session summary: Cameroon, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg
From 11th to 29th April 2022, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) held its 106th session. During the session, the Committee reviewed and adopted its concluding observations on Cameroon, Estonia, Kazakhstan and Luxembourg. In accordance with its follow-up procedure, the Committee considered follow-up reports of Czech Republic, Ireland and Peru. Under its Early Warning and Urgent Action procedure, the Committee adopted a statement on the lack of equitable and non-discriminatory access to COVID vaccines. Under the individual communications procedure, the Committee adopted a decision on the communication 59/2016 concerning Sami petitioners versus Finland, concluding that the petitioner’s right to political participation was violated by some of the rulings of the Supreme Administrative […]May 10, 2022 -
Sri Lanka: Joint NGO Statement in Solidarity with Sri Lankan Human Rights Defender Ambika Satkunanathan
14 February 2022 JOINT NGO STATEMENT IN SOLIDARITY WITH SRI LANKAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER AMBIKA SATKUNANATHAN We the undersigned human rights organizations, express our deep concern about the statement issued by the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry on February 4, 2022, in which the government denounced testimony given by Ambika Satkunanathan, a leading human rights lawyer, to the European Parliament on January 27. The government statement clearly constitutes an act of harassment and intimidation. We condemn the Sri Lankan government’s tactics to intimidate human rights defenders, and express our full solidarity with Ms. Satkunanathan, a well-known, respected and courageous human rights defender. Targeting her for providing accurate testimony about the human […]February 16, 2022 -
Joint NGO submission to the UN Secretary General – Status of the human rights treaty body system
The UN Secretary-General is preparing a report to the UN General Assembly on the implementation of resolutions “Strengthening and enhancing the effective functioning of the human rights treaty body system” (A/RES/68/268) and on “Human right treaty body system” (A/RES/73/162). On this occasion, TB-Net, Amnesty International and the International Service for Human Rights made a joint submission for the report, focused on the following areas: Importance of the Treaty Body System COVID-19 Pandemic and the Treaty Body System Petitions Quality, Independent and Diverse Treaty Body Membership Download the submissionJanuary 28, 2022 -
Joint NGO Letter: Protect Marginalized Groups in South Korea
IMADR joined the call of international NGOs and coalitions to the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) to immediately adopt a comprehensive antidiscrimination law that prohibits discrimination based on gender, disability, medical history, age, origin, ethnicity, race, skin color, physical condition, marital status, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Letter in English and Korean ——— December 20, 2021 National Assembly of the Republic of Korea 1 Uisadang-daero, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul 07233 Republic of Korea Re: Protect marginalized groups in South Korea Dear members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and other members of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea: On behalf of the 30 signatory […]December 20, 2021 -
CERD 106th session: Bolivia, Cameroon, Estonia, Kazakhstan and Luxembourg (April 2022)
At its 106th session from 11th to 29th April 2022, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) will carry out following activities. Periodic reviews: Bolivia (Plurinational State of); Cameroon; Estonia, Kazakhstan; and Luxembourg Assessment of follow-up report: Czech Republic and Peru Civil society organisations (CSOs) are encouraged to submit information on the situations of racial discrimination in these countries. Please get in touch with us if you are preparing an alternative report or planning one on the abovementioned countries. Contact us at: geneva[@]imadr.org (remove “[]” when you send e-mail). Practical information for civil society Deadline for alternative reports for the reviews and follow-up assessments: 21 March 2022 Deadline […]December 20, 2021 -
Newsletter E-CONNECT No.38 is out
On the 14th of December, we released our new issue of E-CONNECT. If you have not subscribed to our newsletter, you can do it from here! Back number is also available. Feature story New! Child-friendly International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and its standards On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA), IMADR and Child Rights Connect launched the child-friendly ICERD and its standards. Developed through consultations with children from various regions, the document is designed as a practical tool to promote awareness of the general public, especially children and youth, on the international human rights […]December 14, 2021 -
Publication: Child-friendly International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and its standards
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA), IMADR and Child Rights Connect launched the child-friendly version of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and its standards. This project bore out of the two organisations’ collaborations as members of TB-Net – NGO Network on UN Treaty Bodies. Developed through consultations with children from various regions, this child-friendly and everyone-friendly document is designed as a practical tool to promote awareness of the general public, especially children and youth, on the international human rights standards against racial discrimination including the State obligations. With beautiful illustrations by Naida […]December 10, 2021 -
CERD 105th session summary: Chile, Denmark, Singapore, Switzerland and Thailand
On the 3rd of December, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) concluded its 105th session. In this session, the Committee adopted concluding observations on Chile, Denmark, Singapore, Switzerland and Thailand, and the list of issues prior to reporting (LOIPR) on San Marino and Trinidad and Tobago. It adopted guidelines on the cooperation with NGOs and NHRIs. In accordance with its follow-up procedure, The Committee issued a follow-up letter to Montenegro. The Committee sent letters to Australia, Kazakhstan and the United States of America under its Early Warning and Urgent Action procedure. Under the individual communications procedure, the Committee adopted an opinion on Kotor vs. France (CERD/C/105/D/65/2018). It found […]December 9, 2021 -
Role of civil society in conflict prevention and minority rights protection (FMI14, 2021, OS)
IMADR delivered the oral statement on “Role of civil society in conflict prevention and minority rights protection” at the 14th session of the Forum on Minority Issues. Whole text can be read below or download here. ——— Oral Statement: 14th session of the Forum on Minority Issues Item 5: Towards a lasting peace: positive initiatives to better protect the rights of minorities to prevent conflicts 3 December 2021 Thank you, Madam Chair, We thank the Special Rapporteur for adopting this year’s Regional Forums to challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Forums’ online format serves as a good practice of the UN human rights system which brought minority representatives and […]December 3, 2021
