Towards an Amicable Solution: The Inter-State Communications Procedure under ICERD

Abstract

Articles 11–13 ICERD provide for inter-State communications before the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The mechanism was triggered for the first time in 2018, with three inter-State communications – Qatar v. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar v. United Arab Emirates and Palestine v. Israel. This article offers a detailed, article-by-article analysis of the ICERD inter-State communications mechanism. It looks back at CERD decision-making under Article 11, which pioneered rules of procedure and practice in inter-State communications before a UN treaty body. It considers the composition of the ad hoc Conciliation Commissions under Article 12. It looks forward to the role of the ad hoc Conciliation Commissions under Article 13 in terms of fact-finding, an amicable solution and recommendations. In conclusion, the potential of the Articles 11–13 mechanism as a global contentious human rights jurisdiction is emphasised.