International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

 

Article 14

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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 A declaration may be withdrawn at any time by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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. (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.

7. (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.

8. 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.

9. 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 I of this article.

Article 15

1. 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.

2. (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.

3. 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.

4. 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

1. 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.

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

Article 18

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

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

Article 19

1. 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.

2. 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

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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

1. 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.

2. 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

1. 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.

2. 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.

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

International Court of Justice, Settlement of Disputes, Statute of the International Court of Justice.