Preface I n 1998 the UN celebrated the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That anniversary provided an historic and opportune moment to relaunch worldwide campaigning efforts for the fulfilment of the objectives of the UN s Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993—2003) and of the revised Programme of Action for the Decade. In this regard, the UN General Assembly decided at its 52nd session in 1997 to convene the third World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance no later than the year 2001. Among the many national and international organizations to take such opportunities for renewed action, have been the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), an international NGO committed to the fight against racial discrimination and racism, and Minority Rights Group International (MRG), an international NGO working for the promotion and protection of the rights of minorities and cooperation between communities. In November 1998, IMADR, recognizing the importance of interaction between the international level and local realities, launched the International Campaign for the Elimination of Racism and Racial Discrimination 2001 (ICR 2001) for the effective implementation of the programme of action and the successful convening of the World Conference Against Racism. MRG s work focuses on principles of participation and ownership of the proceedings of the World Conference against Racism by disadvantaged minority communities, and on long-term sustainable work towards the implementation of the provisions of ICERD — especially as they relate to exclusion, including economic exclusion, and marginalization of minorities and indigenous peoples. MRG aims to develop a programme of action towards greater visibility and effectiveness of international and national mechanisms for the implementation of ICERD. It is in order to pursue these goals — and in the framework of increasing cooperation between IMADR, MRG and other NGOs — that the need has been identified to develop tools for activists, for access to and use of international and national standards and mechanisms for the protection of rights. This manual aims to explain and analyse the work of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), and aid NGOs and other activists who want to campaign and advocate around issues of discrimination. Some NGOs may doubt the usefulness of a manual that encourages the use of UN bodies as an instrument. They may have been disillusioned by lengthy processes, and the apparent absence of any impact on the situation of the people they are concerned with, and thus prefer to avoid the complexities of the UN mechanisms. In the framework of the ICR 2001, IMADR is attempting to establish a forum where NGOs, especially national NGOs, can share their experience and acquire further knowledge of instruments in the struggle against discrimination, in particular the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). The involvement of CERD is certainly not the only way to change patterns of discrimination; it has the potential, however, to be instrumental in influencing governments policies and practices. The Committee is also an important means to build up international awareness and pressure, and to draw attention to problems that groups and individuals are facing. Knowledge of the Convention and the work of the Committee can be a powerful tool for NGOs in their advocacy and campaigning activities. Since 1998, MRG has devised and initiated the implementation of a programme of action around the World Conference and its preparatory events, which aims to gain visibility and promote action on issues related to discrimination, exclusion and disadvantage suffered by minorities worldwide. The purpose of this manual is twofold: first, we attempt to explain, while striving to avoid legal jargon, what the main provisions of the Convention are, and throw light on the working procedure of CERD; second, we suggest what roles NGOs can play, including in the work of CERD, and how NGOs can use the Convention as an ICERD: A GUIDE FOR NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS III