Glossary CERD — the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is an expert body responsible for monitoring the implementation of the provisions of ICERD by the states parties. Concluding Observations — these provide collective opinions and assessments of CERD on the presentation of a state party s report. The Concluding Observations have the format of: introduction, factors and difficulties impeding the implementation of the Convention, positive aspects, principal subjects of concern, and suggestions and recommendations. Early-warning measures — these were introduced to CERD s regular agenda in 1994. They aim to prevent existing problems from escalating into conflicts and can include confidence-building measures to identify and support whatever strengthens and reinforces racial tolerance, particularly to prevent a resumption of any previous conflicts. GA — the General Assembly is the United Nations (UN) s main deliberative organ which is composed of representatives of all member states, each of which has one vote. CERD reports annually, through the SecretaryGeneral, to the GA on its activities, as well as on the suggestions (Concluding Observations) and General Recommendations it adopts based on the examination of the reports and information received from the states parties. General Recommendations — these are produced by CERD to provide interpretation on the content of ICERD articles, and can be issued on thematic topics. Although they are not legally binding, General Recommendations carry considerable weight and are meant to guide state parties as to their obligations under the Convention. ICERD — the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination is one of the six major human rights treaties adopted by the UN, and the first to have established a monitoring mechanism. ICERD is the most comprehensive international legal instrument addressing racial discrimination, which is defined as any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or eth- II nic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life (Article 1.1). It has 156 states parties (as at September 2000). NGOs — non-governmental organizations are independent, non-commercial organizations, not established by or beholden to government or inter-governmental bodies. Their mandates can be international or domestic, and their aims and activities can cover a range of public interest areas (e.g. human rights, environmental protection). NGOs aim to bring about positive change in their areas of focus. NGOs in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) — benefits of consultative status include: easy access to information resources throughout the UN and participation in various UN bodies, as well as major inter-governmental conferences. An increasing number of NGOs contribute to the work of the UN by providing useful information and expertise, and by offering input into the drafting of new international standards. Review procedure — this was introduced to CERD s regular agenda in 1991 in order to review the implementation of the Convention in cases where a state s report is significantly overdue, by using the previous state s reports and taking other relevant information into account. States parties — states which have ratified or acceeded to a Convention Urgent procedures — these were introduced to CERD s regular agenda in 1994, and respond to problems requiring immediate attention to prevent or limit the scale or number of serious violations of the Convention. Under those procedures, CERD examines a situation without any periodic report from the state party concerned. ICERD: A GUIDE FOR NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS