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The presentation of a periodic report from the government of Venezuela in 1989 is described. Committee members expressed their disagreement with the government's view of its reporting obligations. Comparisons are drawn with the Committee's consideration of some other reports.

In 1965, many governments associated racial discrimination with a particular phase of European thought, with the imperialism of European powers, and with practices in the USA. Yet the Convention represented it as a universal problem. From its first meeting in 1970, CERD, the body established to examine state reports, had to work out the implications for states in different regions of their acceptance of its obligations. The relations between relevant groups in Europe, Africa, America, and Asia at this time are described.

Most states saw accession to the Convention as a matter of foreign policy. Many perceived it as a way of demonstrating their anti‐apartheid credentials, with but few implications for their internal affairs. In its first eight years, CERD had to concentrate upon establishing the novel reporting regime, upon tutoring state delegations as to the nature of their new obligations, and on agreeing some boundaries to the Committee's mandate.

During the ten years from 1978, the conflict between the Eastern and Western blocs formed the political framework within which CERD had to operate. It was argued, on the one hand, that CERD could not examine a report properly unless it could compare the information within it to information from other sources. On the other hand, it was maintained that the Convention referred only to ‘the examination of the reports and information received from the States Parties’. In 1986, at a time when the press was reporting on a campaign forcibly to assimilate the Turkish‐speaking minority in Bulgaria, the Committee was unable to confirm that the campaign was contrary to the Convention.

With the election of new members in 1988 and with changes in external circumstances, CERD was able to take positive steps to improve its working methods and to agree that it would issue ‘concluding observations’ expressing a collective view. It introduced procedures for reviewing the implementation of the Convention in states that had not submitted reports and for taking urgent action in emergencies. Its procedure for issuing opinions on communications (or petitions) from individuals came into effect. Figures are provided on the use of CERD's time.

More detailed consideration is given to CERD's jurisprudence on particular articles, such as the recommendation that Article 3 constitutes a general prohibition of racial segregation and not just of apartheid. The discussion of particular articles is related to the Committee's observations on particular reports. It concludes that the dialogue with European states has been productive because there is also pressure for action arising within these states.

There appears to have been more genuine idealism in the approach of American states than in other regions. CERD has questioned states in this region concerning the implications of the Convention for the protection of indigenous peoples. The USA's ratification of the Convention in 1994 was subject to reservations that are controversial in international law.

The implementation of the Convention in states in the Pacific, East Asia, South Asia, South‐East Asia, and the Middle East is summarily reviewed. CERD has disagreed with some governments about whether the Convention prohibits discrimination based on caste, and, for example, about the claim that Bangladesh constitutes a ‘post‐racial society’.

This chapter focuses on the extent to which Asian states participate in the general UN human rights machinery. It begins by outlining the positions of Asian states with regards to human rights then discusses the notion of the so-called ‘Asian Values’ debate. This is followed by an examination of Asian states' participation in the human rights treaty and charter-based regime. The final section seeks to undertake a brief survey of the Asian states that have reported on minority rights issues, drawing on the state reports submitted to the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) and Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

The chapter opens the collection with a tour d’horizon of the origins, lifetime and experience of implementing the treaty from the perspective of a CERD member. It argues that the treaty ought to be considered a significant step forward in the extension of the rule of law.

Through the issue of disaggregated data collection, the chapter tracks the changes in CERD’s approach from its early days to contemporary questions, capturing shifts in the Committee’s priorities and engagement with States parties.

The chapter represents a discussion of racial discrimination and gender justice, or the link between the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination and the furtherance of gender justice via the UN treaty system.

The chapter reviews CERD's contribution to the development of the rights of indigenous peoples under international law, as inter alia the first human rights treaty monitoring body to adopt a specific general recommendation on the rights of indigenous peoples.

The chapter provides a chronological account of CERD’s engagement with discrimination against Roma and its central contribution to developments which have brought about a fundamentally changed understanding of the Roma as a heterodox set of ethnic groups.

The chapter examines the emergence of the issue of caste-discrimination under ICERD in the 1990s, its consolidation in General Recommenaiton 29, and State opposition, in particular from India, which contests the categorisation of caste as a form of descent-based discrimination and therefore a form of racial discrimination.

The chapter analyses the role of CERD in highlighting and addressing the discrimination suffered by Afro-descendants in Latin America. CERD General Recommendation 34 (on people of African descent is detailed, including its potential as a stepping-stone towards an International Declaration on the Rights of Afro-descendants.

The chapter explores the common thread linking ICERD and genoide, including CERD’s 2005 Declaration on the Prevention of Genocide, and list of indicators relevant to the prevention of genocide, termed ‘indicators of patterns of systematic and massive racial discrimination’.

The chapter offers a compelling case study on the operationalization of CERD’s early warning and urgent action procedure in the case of the Subanon community located at the foot of Mt Canatuan in the Phillippines, and provides a close-up of the relevance of the treaty on the ground.