BELIZE

Special Decisions or Action Taken Re: Reporting, Including Urgent Action Procedure

CERD, A/62/18 (2007)

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Chapter II

PREVENTION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, INCLUDING EARLY WARNING AND URGENT ACTION PROCEDURES

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21. At its seventieth session, the Committee requested the Chairperson to send a letter to the Government of Belize, informing it that the Committee had considered on a preliminary basis under its early warning and urgent action procedures information regarding the situation of the Maya people and their land claims. In view of the fact that the problems faced by the Maya people seemed to call for immediate attention, and referring to its general recommendation No. 23 (1997) on the rights of indigenous peoples, the Committee requested the State party to submit replies to a series of questions as a matter of urgency and no later than 1 July 2007.

22. At its seventy-first session, the Committee requested the Chairperson to thank the Government of Belize for its reply received on 14 August 2007, while reiterating its wish to receive a detailed response to the questions raised in its letter of 9 March 2007, no later than 31 December 2007.

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CERD, A/63/18 (2008)

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Chapter II

PREVENTION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, INCLUDING EARLY WARNING AND URGENT ACTION PROCEDURES

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19. During the reporting period, the Committee again considered a number of situations under its early warning and urgent action procedure, including in particular the following:

20. At its seventy-second session, the Committee considered new information concerning the situation of the Maya people and their land claims in Belize. In the absence of replies to its letters dated 9 March and 24 August 2007, and following the receipt of new information and the adoption of a pertinent decision by the Supreme Court of Belize, the Committee again sent a letter to Belize requesting it to respond to previously raised questions. The Government of Belize responded to the request for information regarding the situation of the Maya in Belize and their land claims by a letter dated 1 July 2008.

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Chapter V: Review of the Implementation of the Convention in States Parties the Reports of Which are Seriously Overdue

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C. Action taken by the Committee to ensure submission of reports by States parties

525. At its forty-second session, the Committee, having emphasized that the delays in reporting by States parties hampered it in monitoring implementation of the Convention, decided that it would continue to proceed with the review of the implementation of the provisions of the Convention by States parties whose reports were overdue by five years or more. In accordance with a decision taken at its thirty-ninth session, the Committee agreed that this review would be based upon the last reports submitted by the State party concerned and their consideration by the Committee. At its forty-ninth session, the Committee further decided that States parties whose initial reports were overdue by five years or more would also be scheduled for a review of the implementation of the Convention. The Committee agreed that in the absence of an initial report, the Committee would consider all information submitted by the State party to other organs of the United Nations or, in the absence of such material, reports and information prepared by organs of the United Nations. In practice the Committee also considers relevant information from other sources, including from non-governmental organizations, whether it is an initial or periodic report that is seriously overdue.

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528. Following its seventy-second session, the Committee decided to schedule for its seventy-third session a review of the implementation of the Convention in the following States parties whose initial or periodic reports were seriously overdue: Belize, Chile, Peru and the Philippines. Chile and the Philippines were withdrawn from the list prior to the seventy-third session following the submission of their overdue reports.

529. At the seventy-third session, the Committee met with a delegation from Peru, which reconfirmed the intention of the Government to submit the overdue report by the end of 2008 and requested that the review be postponed, a request which was granted by the Committee. The Committee also decided to postpone the review of the situation in Belize, in light of correspondence received from the State party drawing attention to the limited resources of the Government and requesting technical assistance in the reporting process from OHCHR.

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