IHRC Publishes Summary Record of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 107th Review Session of the United States.

International Human Rights Clinic

Human Rights Day is celebrated on December 10, 2023 this year and marks the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This inspired more than 60 human rights instruments which together constitute an international standard of human rights, including the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).

From August 8th to August 30th, 2022, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) held its 107th Session where it reviewed the U.S.’s efforts to implement the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination.

After engaging in human rights advocacy at the United Nations CERD in 2022, in Geneva,Switzerland, the International Human Rights Clinic releases a Summary of Record of the 107thReview of the United States in relation to its obligations under the treaty. In working alongside civil society organizations and groups, the clinic produced this record to support continued advocacy to combat systemic and structural racism in the United States. The Summary of Record is available here.

The Summary of Record is an example of how the International Human Rights Clinic continues its domestication of international human rights by bridging the gap between international human rights advocacy and pressing human rights issues in the United States. “Alejandra Palacios, staff attorney at the clinic, was instrumental in working with our UIC Law clinic students and civil society groups to produce this important record of the 107th Session of the CERD,” said Professor Sarah Dávila, Director of the International Human Rights Clinic, who engages with the United Nations and has taken students to New York and Geneva to engage in international human rights work.

The UIC International Human Rights Clinic offers law students a background in human rights advocacy through practical experience in working on international human rights cases and projects.