OPENING OF THE MEETING BY THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

ELECTION OF THE CHAIRMAN

ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA

ADOPTION OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE

CREDENTIALS OF REPRESENTATIVES

ELECTION OF OTHER OFFICERS OF THE MEETING

ELECTION OF NINE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION TO REPLACE THOSE WHOSE TERMS OF OFFICE WILL EXPIRE ON 19 JANUARY 1996, IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 8, PARAGRAPHS 1 TO 5, OF THE CONVENTION

FINANCIAL SITUATION OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

OTHER MATTERS

OPENING OF THE MEETING BY THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

The TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN, speaking on behalf of the Secretary-General, declared open the Sixteenth Meeting of the States Parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. He informed the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination that, since the previous meeting, eight more States (Albania, Japan, Monaco, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the United States of America and Uzbekistan) had adhered to the Convention, bringing to 146 the total number of States parties.

At its 1994 and 1995 sessions, the Committee had considered the reports of 41 States parties and had adopted, in each case, concluding observations containing detailed suggestions and recommendations for enhanced implementation of the Convention. In its effort to re-establish dialogue with States whose reports were long overdue, the Committee had continued to re-examine the most recent reports submitted by such States. Since its Fifteenth Meeting, it had also adopted a general recommendation concerning implementation of article 3 of the Convention.

The Committee had continued to develop its early-warning and urgent procedures, which would allow it to respond more effectively to situations of widespread racial discrimination or racially motivated violence. It had also carried out the functions assigned to it under article 14 of the Convention, whereby it considered communications received from individuals or groups who alleged that their rights under the Convention had been violated.

In its resolution 47/111, the General Assembly had endorsed the amendment to the Convention providing for the financing of the Committee's activities from the regular budget of the United Nations and had requested the Secretary-General to take the appropriate measures to provide for such financing beginning with the budget for the biennium 1994-1995. In accordance with that resolution, the Secretary-General continued to ensure that the Committee received adequate funding to carry out its activities. As at 31 December 1995, 17 States parties had accepted the amendment which, in order to enter into force, must be accepted by two thirds of the States parties.

On 21 December 1995, the General Assembly had adopted its resolution 50/137, entitled "Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination". In accordance with the General Assembly's request, the text of the resolution, contained in document A/50/626, had been made available in the meeting room.

ELECTION OF THE CHAIRMAN

Mr. HUDYMA (Ukraine) nominated Mr. Martini Herrera (Guatemala) for the office of Chairman of the Meeting.

Mr. Martini Herrera (Guatemala) was elected Chairman by acclamation.

Mr. Martini Herrera (Guatemala) took the Chair.

ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA (CERD/SP/57)

The agenda was adopted.

ADOPTION OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE (CERD/SP/2/Rev.1)

The rules of procedure were adopted.

CREDENTIALS OF REPRESENTATIVES

The CHAIRMAN, drawing attention to rules 2 and 3 of the rules of procedure, said that the Secretary-General had not yet received the credentials of the representatives of a number of the States parties represented at the Meeting. He therefore suggested that, in accordance with rule 3, the representatives of those States should nevertheless be authorized provisionally to participate in the Meeting, and he urged the States in question to submit the credentials of their representatives as soon as possible.

It was so decided.

ELECTION OF OTHER OFFICERS OF THE MEETING

The CHAIRMAN said that, under rule 4 of the rules of procedure, the Meeting should elect one to four Vice-Chairmen from among the representatives of the States parties. At the previous Meeting, four Vice-Chairmen had been elected. He had been informed that Mr. Rezvani (Islamic Republic of Iran) and Mr. Rata (New Zealand) had been nominated for the posts of Vice-Chairmen by their respective regional groups.

Mr. Rezvani (Islamic Republic of Iran) and Mr. Rata (New Zealand) were elected Vice-Chairmen by acclamation.

ELECTION OF NINE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION TO REPLACE THOSE WHOSE TERMS OF OFFICE WILL EXPIRE ON 19 JANUARY 1996, IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 8, PARAGRAPHS 1 TO 5 OF THE CONVENTION (CERD/SP/55 and Add.1-3)

The CHAIRMAN drew attention to the list of candidates nominated by the States parties, and their biological data, in document CERD/SP/55 and Add.1-3. The names of the nine members whose terms of office would expire on 19 January 1996 and the names of the other nine members who would contain to serve on the Committee until 19 January 1998 were given in annexes I and II to that document. All together, 12 candidates had been mentioned for the nine vacancies. He drew attention to the provisions of article 8 of the Convention relating to the election of members of the Committee, particularly paragraphs 1, 2, 4 and 5 (a).

At the invitation of the Chairman, Mr. Braha (Albania) and Ms. Morgan Sotomayor (Mexico) acted as tellers.

A vote was taken by secret ballot.

Number of ballot papers: 132

Invalid ballots: 1

Number of valid ballots: 131

Abstentions: 0

Number of members voting: 131

Required majority: 66

Number of votes obtained:

Mrs. Zou Deci (China) .................. 116

Mr. Theodoor van Boven (Netherlands) ... 115

Mrs. Shanti Sadiq Ali (India) .......... 110

Mr. Eduardo Ferrero Costa (Peru) ....... 108

Mr. Youri Rechetov (Russian Federation) 106

Mr. Luis Valencia Rodríguez (Ecuador) .. 105

Mr. Ivan Garvalov (Bulgaria) ........... 95

Mr. Ion Diaconu (Romania) .............. 88

Mr. Mario Jorge Yutzis (Argentina) ..... 79

Mr. George Odartey Lamptey (Ghana) ..... 74

Mr. Joaquín Tacsan (Costa Rica) ........ 74

Ms. Nina Vaji (Croatia) ............... 65

Having obtained the required majority and the largest number of votes, Mr. van Boven (Netherlands), Mr. Diaconu (Romania), Mr. Ferrero Costa (Peru), Mr. Garvalov (Bulgaria), Mr. Rechetov (Russian Federation), Mrs. Sadiq Ali (India), Mr. Valencia Rodríguez (Ecuador), Mr. Yutzis (Argentina) and Mrs. Zou Deci (China) were elected members of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination for a four-year term beginning on 20 January 1996.

FINANCIAL SITUATION OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION (A/50/467, CERD/SP/58, CERD/SP/1996/L.1)

Mr. ROWE (Australia), introducing draft resolution CERD/SP/1996/L.1, said that in 1992 the States parties had agreed to amend the Convention so that the Committee could be funded from the regular budget of the United Nations, which would enable it to carry out its mandate more effectively. It was regrettable that, four years later, despite its endorsement by the General Assembly, the amendment had been accepted by only 17 States, whereas acceptance by two thirds of the States parties was required for its entry into force. The purpose of the draft resolution was to provide the convention with a sound financial basis. The draft resolution urged all States parties to ratify as quickly as possible the amendment to the Convention regarding financing of the Committee and notify the Secretary-General of their agreement to those amendments. The draft resolution also expressed concern that a number of States had not yet met their financial obligations. After consulting a number of States parties, his delegation proposed that preambular paragraph 2 should be deleted. With regard to paragraph 3, his delegation considered that the Secretary-General should include a list of the States parties that had accepted the amendment, as well as information regarding the financial responsibilities of States parties under article 8, paragraph 6, of the Convention.

Mr. IZQUIERDO (Ecuador) said that Ecuador had become a sponsor of the draft resolution proposed by Australia.

Ms. BUCK (Canada) said that her delegation fully supported the draft resolution and recalled that the modification to article 8 of the Convention was intended to provide the Committee with the resources it needed to carry out its mandate. States parties should therefore accept the amendment as soon as possible.

Ms. TOMI (Slovenia) said that her delegation supported the draft resolution presented by Australia. It was essential for the Committee to have sufficient financial resources to carry out its mandate and that the amendment should therefore be ratified without delay.

The CHAIRMAN proposed that the States parties should adopt the draft resolution introduced by Australia, as orally revised.

It was so decided.

The CHAIRMAN drew attention to a letter entitled "Communication from the Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to the Chairperson of the Sixteenth Meeting of State Parties" (CERD/SP/56).

Mr. OTUYELU (Nigeria) said that the Committee was faced with three serious problems: first, it lacked sufficient resources for its effective functioning; secondly, a number of States parties were not meeting their financial obligations on time; and, finally, reporting procedures needed to be modified in order to facilitate the work of the States parties .