International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination is a United Nations human rights treaty, adopted by the General Assembly in December 1965 and entering into force in January 1969. It was drafted at a time when decolonisation had brought many new states to the United Nations and when apartheid and racist incidents drew international condemnation. States that ratify it agree to condemn racial discrimination and to pursue policies to eliminate it, including criminalising incitement and racist organisations, though many have made reservations to the latter. It is monitored by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which reviews state reports and can hear individual complaints. It was the first of the major UN human rights treaties to be adopted and to enter into force.

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