CERD General Recommendation No. 23 on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples CERD has conducted thematic discussions on the subjects of Roma, discrimination based on descent, affirmative action/special measures, indicators for genocide prevention and the rights of non-citizens.58 CERD also has an Early Warning Procedure to respond in cases where existing problems with implementing ICERD could escalate into more serious conflict. This may include statements or resolutions by CERD and even field visits. The committees have made recommendations on a wide range of human rights issues affecting minorities in all regions of the world. Some examples are provided in Annex II by theme. 11.4 OTHER STANDARDS RELEVANT TO MINORITIES There are several additional international human rights standards that have particular relevance to the situation of minorities. The instruments discussed below could be considered alongside other group-specific instruments such as those for women, children, indigenous peoples, migrants, persons with disabilities and refugees. The Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide aims to protect59 national, ethnical, racial or religious groups (including minorities), from destruction in whole or in part. No treaty body was established to monitor implementation. However, the Convention does foresee the creation of national or international criminal tribunals to try crimes of genocide (article 6). The International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda are examples of such tribunals. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court provides for the prosecution of cases that encompass not only the crime of genocide but also crimes against humanity. A list of acts that constitute crimes against humanity is contained in article 7, paragraph 1. The Rome Statue also prohibits persecution against; inter alia, racial, national, ethnic, cultural or religious groups (article 7.1 (h)). Practices such as forced population transfers intended to move persons belonging to minorities away from the territory on which they live, or with that effect, as well as forced sterilizations, would constitute serious breaches of the Rome Statute. The ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) requires States to adopt and implement national policies to promote and ensure equality of opportunity and treatment in employment, with a view to eliminating direct and indirect discrimination on grounds of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction and social origin (articles 1 and 2). National policies must address discrimination and promote equality, in law and in practice, in the areas of access to education and training, employment services, recruitment, access to particular occupations, as well as terms and conditions of employment. The 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work provides that all Members of the ILO have an obligation to respect, to promote and to realize the fundamental principles and rights at work (“core labour standards”). These include the principle of non-discrimination in employment and occupation, freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining and the elimination of forced and compulsory labour, as well as child See http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/discussions.htm (accessed 9 August 2009). 58 Article 2 of the Genocide Convention defines genocide as: any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. 59 152 M A R G I N A L I S E D M I N O R I T I E S I N D E V E LO P M E N T P R O G R A M M I N g