UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to review Sudan

GENEVA, Switzerland, April 28, 2015/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Sudan's record on tackling racial discrimination will face scrutiny by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) on Monday 4 May and Tuesday 5 May in meetings that will be webcast live.

Sudan is one of the 177 States Parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and so is required to submit regular reports to the Committee, which is composed of 18 international independent experts.

The Committee will engage in a dialogue with the Sudanese Government delegation on 4 May from 15:00 to 18:00 (16:00 to 19:00 in Sudan) and on 5 May from 10:00 to 13:00 (11:00-12:00).

Venue: Palais Wilson, Geneva

Live webcast: www.treatybodywebcast.org.

The Committee will also hear from other UN entities and NGOs.

Among the possible issues to be discussed: Vulnerability of ethnic minorities to police harassment; preservation of ethnic and cultural diversity of South Kordofan and Blue Nile states and customs and traditions of Nuba peoples; situation of ethnic and tribal groups in Red Sea and Kassala states; situation of internally displaced people; political representation of ethnic minorities; impact of 2011 amendment to nationality law on South Sudanese people in Sudan, including risk of statelessness.

More information, including Sudan's written report, here: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=977&Lang=en

A news conference is scheduled for 14:30 on Friday 15 May at Palais des Nations in Geneva to discuss the Committee's concluding observations on Sudan and the other countries being reviewed – France, Guatemala, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany and Denmark. The concluding observations will be published here on 15 May: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=977&Lang=en