COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION
OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
Sixty- sixth session
Geneva, 21 February-11 March 2005
PROVISIONAL AGENDA AND ANNOTATIONS
Note by the Secretary-General
1. The sixty-sixth session of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination will be held at the United Nations Office in Geneva from February – 11 March 2005. The first meeting of the session will be convened at 10 a.m. on Monday, 21 February 2005.
2. This document contains the provisional agenda for the session, prepared by the Secretary-General in consultation with the Chairman of the Committee in accordance with rule 6 of the rules of procedure, together with annotations relating thereto.
3. The attention of States parties is drawn, in particular, to the annotations to item 4 and to the annex which contains a tentative timetable for the consideration of reports and further information submitted by States parties and for the consideration of States parties whose reports are seriously overdue, pursuant to the review procedure.
4. In accordance with rule 64 of the rules of procedure, the representatives of the States parties are invited to be present at the meetings of the Committee when their reports are
PROVISIONAL AGENDA
1. Adoption of the agenda.
2. Organizational and other matters.
3. Prevention of racial discrimination, including early warning measures and urgent action procedures.
4. Consideration of reports, comments and information submitted by States parties under article 9 of the Convention.
5. Submission of reports by States parties under article 9, paragraph 1, of the Convention.
6. Consideration of communications under article 14 of the Convention.
7. Follow-up to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.
ANNOTATIONS TO THE PROVISIONAL AGENDA
1. Adoption of the agenda
Under rule 8 of the rules of procedure, the first item on the provisional agenda of any session shall be the adoption of the agenda, except for the election of the officers when required under rule 15. In accordance with rule 9, the Committee may revise the agenda during a session and may, as appropriate, add, defer, or delete items.
2. Organizational and other matters
Under this item, the Committee will consider its programme of work for the
sixty-sixth session It will also hold a thematic discussion on the prevention of genocide and a debate on multiculturalism. Furthermore, it will continue reviewing its working methods.
3. Prevention of racial discrimination, including early warning
measures and urgent action procedures
The Committee decided at its forty-fifth session to establish this as one of its regular and principal agenda items. Within the framework of its efforts to prevent racial discrimination, the Committee may decide to take early warning measures aimed at preventing existing problems from escalating into conflicts or it may decide to initiate urgent action procedures aimed at responding to problems requiring immediate attention to prevent or limit the scale or number of serious violations of the Convention. The Committee may also take action or further action regarding States parties already considered under this item.
Furthermore, the Committee may, at its discretion, schedule the consideration of the situation in some States parties at short notice.
4. Consideration of reports, comments and information submitted
by States parties under article 9 of the Convention
At its sixty-sixth session, the Committee will consider initial and periodic reports received from the following States parties: Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, France, Ireland, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Luxembourg and Nigeria. It will also undertake a review of the implementation of the Convention in the following States parties for which periodic reports are seriously overdue: Bosnia and Herzegovina, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Nicaragua and Papua New Guinea.
In pursuance of established practice and in conformity with rule 64 of the rules of procedure, the Secretary-General has informed the States parties concerned of the tentative dates on which their reports are scheduled for consideration by the Committee. The scheduling of the Committee's consideration of reports submitted and review of the implementation of the Convention in the States parties whose reports are excessively overdue is set forth in the timetable below.
5. Submission of reports by States parties under article 9, paragraph 1, of the Convention
At its sixty- sixth session, the Committee will have before it a note by the Secretary-General concerning the status of submission of reports by States parties in accordance with article 9 of the Convention (CERD/C/ 499). Part A of that document indicates reports received from States parties and pending consideration by the Committee. Part B of the document contains information relating to overdue reports.
6. Consideration of communications under article 14 of the Convention
In accordance with the provisions of chapter XVIII of its rules of procedure, the Committee will consider under this item communications which are or appear to be submitted to it under article 14 of the Convention.
In accordance with rule 88 of the rules of procedure, the meetings of the Committee during which communications under article 14 of the Convention are examined shall be closed.
7. Follow-up to the World Conference against Racism, Racial
Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance
The Secretariat will brief the Committee on follow-up activities to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.
Annex
Tentative timetable for consideration of reports,
comments and further information submitted by
statEs parties and for consideration of StatEs
parties whose reports are seriously overdue
pursuant to the review procedure
The following timetable has been drawn up by the Secretary-General, in consultation with the Chairman, taking into account the relevant decisions taken by the Committee at its sixth session.
| Monday, 21 February 2005 |  | (1673rd meetings) |
| Lao People's Democratic Republic | Sixth to fifteenth periodic reports due from 1985 to 2003, submitted in one report (CERD/C/451/Add.1) |
 |  |  |
Tuesday, 22 February 2005
|  | (1674th and 1675th meetings) |
|  |  |
| Lao People's Democratic Republic | (continued) |
 |  |  |
| France | Fifteenth and sixteenth periodic reports due from 2000 to 2002, submitted in one report (CERD/C/430/Add.4) |
 |  |  |
Wednesday, 23 February 2005
|  | (1676th and 1677th meetings) |
|  |  |
| France | (continued) |
 |  |  |
| Luxembourg | Tenth to thirteenth periodic reports due from 1997 to 2003, submitted in one report (CERD/C/449/Add.1) |
 |  |  |
Thursday, 24 February 2005
|  | (1678th and 1679th meetings) |
|  |  |
| Luxembourg | (continued) |
 |  |  |
|  | Communications |
 |  |  |
|  | (1680th and 1681st meetings) |
|  |  |
|  | Early warning and urgent procedures |
 |  |  |
| Nigeria | Fourteenth to eighteenth periodic reports due from 1996 to 2004, submitted in one report (CERD/C/476/Add.3) |
 |  |  |
|  | (1682nd and 1683rd meetings) |
|  |  |
| Nigeria
El Salvadora
Ethiopiaa
Nicaraguaa | (continued) |
 |  |  |
| Thematic discussion |  |
|  | (1684th and 1685th meetings) |
|  |  |
| Thematic discussion | (continued) |
 |  |  |
| Australia | Thirteenth and fourteenth periodic reports due from 2000 to 2002, submitted in one report (CERD/C/428/Add.2) |
 |  |  |
|  | (1686th and 1687th meetings) |
 |  |  |
| Australia | (continued) |
 |  |  |
| Ireland | Initial and second periodic reports due from 2002 to 2004, submitted in one report (CERD/C/460/Add.1) |
 |  |  |
|  | (1688th and 1689th meetings) |
|  |  |
| Ireland | (continued) |
 |  |  |
| Bahrain | Sixth and seventh periodic reports due from 2001 to 2003, submitted in one report (CERD/C/443/Add.1) |
 |  |  |
|  | (1690th and 1691st meetings) |
|  |  |
| Bahrain | (continued) |
 |  |  |
| Azerbaijan | Third and fourth periodic reports due from 2001 to 2003, submitted in one report (CERD/C/440/Add.1) |
 |  |  |
|  | (1692nd and 1693rd meetings) |
|  |  |
| Azerbaijan | (continued) |
 |  |  |
p.m.
Tuesday, 8 March 2005
a.m.
p.m.
| Bosnia and
Herzegovinaa
Papua New Guineaa | Communications
(1694th and 1695th meetings)General debate on multiculturalism
Organizational and other matters
Communications |
a Review procedure (for States parties whose reports are seriously overdue).
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