Impact
The impact of an international treaty can be measured in two ways: by its acceptance, and by its implementation. On the first measure, the Convention has gained near-universal acceptance by the international community, with fewer than twenty (mostly small) states yet to become parties. Most major states have also accepted the Convention's individual complaints mechanism, signaling a strong desire to be bound by the Convention's provisions.
On the second measure, the Convention has had a significant impact on national legislation, with many states adopting legislation outlawing racial discrimination by the state, in the workplace, or in the provision of services such as housing and education. Such legislation may be either civil or criminal. Examples of the former include the Race Relations Act 1971 (New Zealand), Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Australia), Race Relations Act 1976 (UK), and Canadian Human Rights Act (Canada). Criminal provisions are used in Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway and Portugal. Despite reservations to the Convention, most western European nations have criminalized the incitement of racial hatred.
The Convention has faced persistent problems with reporting since its inception, with parties frequently failing to report fully, or even at all. As of 2008, twenty parties had failed to report for more than ten years, and thirty parties had failed to report for more than five. One party, Sierra Leone, had failed to report since 1976, while two more – Liberia and Saint Lucia had never met their reporting requirements under the Convention. The Committee has responded to this persistent failure to report by reviewing the late parties anyway – a strategy that has produced some success in gaining compliance with reporting requirements. This lack of reporting is seen by some as a significant failure of the Convention. However the reporting system has also been praised as providing "a permanent stimulus inducing individual States to enact anti-racist legislation or amend the existing one when necessary."
Read more about this topic: Convention On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Racial Discrimination
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