United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Ombudsman Office participates in the 109th Session – discussion of the 18th and 19th reports on Portugal, in Geneva

The Deputy Ombudsman, Ravi Afonso Pereira and Cristina Sá Costa (Head of International Relations) participated in the 109th Session of the CERD (United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination), in which the 18th and 19th reports on Portugal were discussed, held in Geneva on 18 and 19 April.

The Ombudsman, as a national human rights institution, collaborates with UN monitoring bodies in the field of human rights, and had the opportunity to share with the CERD its experience and points of view in the areas covered by the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).

In March this year, the Ombudsman had already presented the alternative report on the implementation of the ICERD in Portugal, based on the analysis of statistical data, references to reports or commentaries from the international and regional human rights system, as well as reliable media reports on specific cases.

You can consult the Ombudsman’s written contribution here. The CERD’s concluding observations on the 18th and 19th reports on Portugal can be found here.