International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD)(external link) was adopted and opened for signature and ratification by General Assembly resolution 2106 (XX) of 21 December 1965 and entered into force 4 January 1969.

New Zealand ratified CERD on 22 November 1972. New Zealand has made no reservations to CERD.

New Zealand has not made a declaration under Article 14 of the CERD recognising the competence of the Committee to receive and consider communications from individuals or groups of individuals.

The Ministry of Justice is responsible for administering CERD.

Monitoring

CERD provides for:

  • a reporting procedure
  • an early warning and urgent action procedure
  • an optional individual complaints mechanism (Article 14), and
  • an interstate complaints procedure.

Early warning and urgent action procedure

The early warning and urgent action procedure has been used once with respect to New Zealand. Read more about this in:

the Decision of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination of 11 March 2005: Decision 1 (66) - NZ Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004.(external link)

Find out more

Read the latest reports relating to New Zealand, produced under the reporting procedure provided for by the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). You can also read reports from previous years(external link)

Reporting procedure for the core human rights instruments of the United Nations

New Zealand's common core document: 'Human Rights Review 2010' [PDF, 4.7 MB]

Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination(external link)

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