About ICERD

The International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) is the international human rights treaty which commits member States to eliminate racial discrimination and promotes the enjoyment of all rights amongst everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, or nationality.

ICERD was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1965 following and has was ratified by the UK in 1969.

Monitoring

The UK’s progress on implementing CERD was last reviewed by the Committee on the Elimination on Racial Discrimination in 2016. In their State Party report, the UK Government outlines steps it has taken since it’s last examination to progress the rights of minority ethnic communities.

The Committee published their Concluding Observations from the reporting cycle in 2016. Issues specifically related to children and young people that were highlighted included discriminatory counter-terrorism measures that the UK Government has implemented and the use of immigration detention with no statutory time limit.

The impact of counter-terrorism measures, particularly the Prevent Stratgey, on children and young people was also highlighted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in their 2016 Concluding Observations.

Official visit to the UK by the Special Rapporteur

In May 2018, the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance made an official visit to the UK at the request of the UK Government.

Together submitted written evidence to the Special Rapporteur prior to her visit and also met with her and her advisors, along with several Together members and other organisations working to eliminate racial discrimination in Scotland.

The Special Rapporteur’s findings will be published in full in 2019, but her preliminary report highlighted the disproportionate number of children from Black and Asian households living in poverty, as well as issues that Gypsy/Traveller children and young people face.