PART I – WHAT IS ICERD? The definition of ICERD sets out five grounds of discrimination; it includes not only race, but also colour, descent, and national or ethnic origin. There is no hierarchy among these five categories and any discrimination based on them should be addressed comprehensively. CERD also stresses that, according to this definition, the Convention relates to all persons who belong to different races, national or ethnic groups or to indigenous peoples.6 Regarding the question of who belongs to which group, it is the opinion of CERD that the identification of individuals as being members of a particular racial or ethnic group “shall, if no justification exists to the contrary, be based upon self-identification by the individuals concerned.”7 Illustration 2: Racial discrimination exists in every country8 Sometimes State parties argue that racial discrimination does not exist in its territory. However, CERD has a contrary view that no country can claim that racial discrimination is non-existent in its territory. In the consideration of its 15th to 20th periodic report of the Philippines, the State party stated that racial discrimination has never officially or factually existed there, neither in a systematic, formal nor intermittent or isolated manner. Responding to this statement, CERD expressed its view and made recommendations as follows: “While the denial of the existence of formal racial discrimination might be acceptable, the Committee wishes to note that even well-intentioned or neutral policies may directly or indirectly have negative or undesired effects on race relations and lead to de facto discrimination. The Committee reiterates its observations that no country can claim that racial discrimination is non-existent in its territory, and that an acknowledgment of the existence of the phenomenon is a necessary precondition for the fight against discrimination”. Illustration 3: Common victims of racial discrimination – vulnerable groups There are some groups or individuals, empirically identified by CERD, who are generally more vulnerable to racial discrimination prohibited by ICERD. These are among others: minority groups (e.g. ethnic, national or linguistic); indigenous peoples; migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. These groups of individuals have indeed often been identified by CERD as victims of racial discrimination in many societies throughout the world. Regarding indigenous peoples, the Committee issued its General Recommendation No. 23 (1997) and affirmed that discrimination against indigenous peoples falls under the scope of ICERD. As a minority or ethnic group, the situation of Roma i.e. discrimination against them in different countries, has been of a particular concern of the Committee and so it issued General Recommendation No. 27 (2000) on this group. 1.2 Discrimination based on “descent” In 2002, CERD issued General Recommendation No. 29 confirming its consistent view that the term “descent” does not solely refer to “race” and has a meaning and application which complement the other prohibited grounds of discrimination. It further stresses that: “discrimination based on "descent" includes discrimination against members of communities based on forms of social stratification such as caste and analogous systems of inherited status which nullify or impair their equal enjoyment of human rights”9 The Committee also sets out the following factors in identifying descent-based communities suffering from discrimination:10 6 CERD General Recommendation No. 24, para. 1. CERD General Recommendation No. 8 8 CERD annual report 2009, A/64/18, para. 42, the Philippines (13) 9 Ibid. 10 Ibid., para. 1 7 2 ICERD & CERD: A GUIDE FOR CIVIL SOCIETY ACTORS