Volume 4

July - September 2002

WCAR follow-up

States race to exclude NGOs

THE World Conference Against Racism (WCAR), held in Durban in September 2001, began, proceeded, and ended on a sour note. That the Conference was able to adopt the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) at all was a cause for jubilation in Durban. Nobody had any illusions about the WCAR having advanced the cause of human rights, or that the adoption of the document represented a major step forward for humanity. When the conference "ended", one day behind schedule, most NGOs had already returned home and the text itself was not to be finalised until further closed-door meetings in Geneva and various State capitals. Acrimony was pervasive. 

Not surprisingly, the 58th session of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), six months after the WCAR, derived little inspiration from the DDPA. The session did not see any substantive debate on the racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. Most of the groups that had maintained a constant, shrill presence at the Kingsmead cricket stadium in Durban were absent when the CHR was taking crucial decisions regarding the implementation of the DDPA. 

The CHR's resolution 2002/68 on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance was disappointing on a number of levels.  The resolution established an intergovernmental working group, a Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent appointed by the Chairperson of the CHR and a voluntary fund. It also recommended the appointment of five independent eminent experts by the Secretary-General to follow the implementation of the provisions of the DDPA and extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. 

The exclusion of NGOs that characterised Durban continues. The CHR resolution says little about the composition of the intergovernmental working group - the key mechanism for implementation of the DDPA. While the resolution calls upon NGOs, relevant human rights treaty bodies, special procedures and other mechanisms of the Commissions, national institutions, international, financial and development institutions, and specialised agencies, programmes and funds of the United Nations to collaborate with the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, the resolution excludes NGOs from participation in the intergovernmental working group. Instead, five independent eminent experts appointed by the Secretary mandated to assist the intergovernmental working group will serve as intermediaries and receive reports from NGOs, among others. NGOs can no longer directly interact with the intergovernmental working group. 

In the informal open-ended meetings during the CHR prior to the presentation of the resolution, the Pakistani delegation insisted that no NGOs be allowed to participate in the intergovernmental working group or be nominated for the expert bodies. 

The lack of commitment to combat racism and racial discrimination is indicated by the indifference shown by States to the Voluntary Fund for the Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination. A second fund, aimed at providing additional resources for the implementation of the DDPA therefore raises few expectations.

The extension of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance is welcome. However, the CHR took the unusual step of appointing the Special Rapporteur through a resolution appointing Mr. Doudou Diène to replace Mr. Maurice Glèlè-Ahanhanzo as Special Rapporteur. The normal practice involved the Chairperson of the CHR, who, in consultation with the Bureau, appointed the mandate holders of the Special Procedures. Since the 56th session, the Chairperson of the CHR appoints, in consultation with the members of extended bureau, Regional Coordinators pursuant to the CHR resolution 2000/109. 

If the trend continues, even the mandate holders of the Special Procedures will be subject to approval by the CHR. In order to advance human rights, mandate holders sometimes need to tell the Commission what it does not want to hear. Hence the normal practice of providing them a level of independence but restricted authority. With the new practice, the days of the independent mandate holders of Special Procedures may well be over.