International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD)

CERD is an international human rights treaty adopted in 1965. The UK agreed to follow CERD in 1969 to take action on eliminating racial discrimination in all its forms, including:

• eradicating racial hatred and incitement to hatred
• combatting prejudices which lead to racial discrimination
• guaranteeing the enjoyment of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights without discrimination on grounds of race, colour, or national or ethnic origin

The UN last examined how well the UK is implementing the treaty and published its recommendations in October 2016. These included:

• strengthening efforts to reduce and tackle all forms of racist hate crime
• addressing the disproportionate detention, restraint, seclusion and medication of Black people or people from ethnic minorities in the psychiatric estate
• reviewing counter-terrorism measures to ensure that there are sufficient safeguards to protect against racial discrimination and abuse
• ensuring members of ethnic minorities can access legal aid
• taking action to end all racist bullying and harassment in schools
• investigating and eradicating racial prejudice and bias in the criminal justice system
• setting a time limit for immigration detention, and taking steps to end the immigration detention of children

The most recent work we have produced as part of our CERD monitoring includes:

• an updated submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (July 2024)
• an updated submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (August 2017)
• our statement at the examination of the UK under CERD (August 2016)
• our submission to the UN Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination  (July 2016) - Welsh version
• a report titled Healing a divided Britain: the need for a comprehensive race equality strategy (August 2016)
• a guide to explain CERD, in collaboration with the Runnymede Trust (November 2015)