Examples of follow-ups: • NGOs can inform the public through the media and/or their own publications about relevant aspects of committee proceedings. Concluding Observations may be important not only for states but also for NGOs. Organizing workshops or similar meetings may be considered to discuss actions for the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Concluding Observations. Analysis of, and commentary on, the Concluding Observations might help people to understand the implications of the committee’s recommendations for the domestic situation. Translation of the Concluding Observations into national and/or other minorities’ languages is equally important. • Involvement of parliamentarians is particularly important in the follow-up process, as some of the recommendations can be implemented only if a certain law is enacted or amended, or other legislative or administrative measures are taken. • NGOs may also approach relevant ministries/departments, local authorities, associations or trade unions in order to make them aware of the state’s obligations in the Convention and the committee’s recommendations to the state. • To put pressure on a government to implement the committee’s recommendations, NGOs might also draw the attention of other UN forums – other treaty bodies, the CHR or its subsidiary organs – to those recommendations that have particular relevance to their respective mandates. • Concluding Observations can also be used within other frameworks – regional and international – for example, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) refers to them wherever appropriate in its legal briefs to, for example, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. • Concluding Observations can be used legally to challenge domestic law, especially when a state’s Constitution incorporates human rights. • The follow-up, in particular on the recommendations contained in Concluding Observations, should also be considered as the first stage in the preparation of a next shadow report. The following sections give a brief example of Concluding Observations relating to minorities issued by some of the treaty bodies. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights The HRC reviewed the report of Slovakia in July 2003. In its Concluding Observations,10 the committee specifically mentioned the Roma minority in six out of its 13 MINORITY RIGHTS: A GUIDE TO UNITED NATIONS PROCEDURES AND INSTITUTIONS principal subjects of concern. The committee expressed its concern at: ‘persistent allegations of police harassment and ill-treatment during police investigations, particularly of the Roma minority’ and at ‘reports that Roma are often victims of racist attacks, without receiving adequate protection from law enforcement officers’. They recommended the government take action to eradicate these problems and to protect Roma, as well as investigating and prosecuting perpetrators. Another committee concern is of reports of the forced sterilization of Roma women and that the state response appeared to implicitly admit to breaches of the principle of informed consent. Rights to education, health and social services are not provided for in the ICCPR; however, Article 26 provides for non-discrimination in all areas of law. The HRC noted measures taken to improve the health and employment of Roma and expressed its concern at the: ‘grossly disproportionate number of Roma children assigned to special schools designed for mentally disabled children, which causes a discriminatory effect, in contravention of article 26 of the Covenant’. They recommended Slovakia take: ‘immediate and decisive steps to eradicate the segregation of Roma children in its educational system by ensuring that differentiation within education is aimed at securing attendance in non-segregated schools and classes. Where needed, the State party should also provide special training to Roma children to secure, through positive measures, their access to education without discrimination’. As follow-up, the HRC requested that Slovakia provide information on the implementation of these recommendations within one year. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination In March 2004, the CERD examined the state report of Brazil. It welcomed a number of positive measures, including: a new civil code that eliminates discriminatory restrictions on indigenous peoples’ civil rights, and the modification of a law on discrimination on the basis of race or colour to include discrimination based on ethnicity, religion and nationality. The CERD highlighted a wide range of concerns, particularly relating to the position of black, mestizo, indigenous and Roma communities. One issue was de facto racial segregation and the committee reminded Brazil that: ‘racial segregation may also arise without any initiative or direct involvement by the public authorities’ and encouraged: 15