US Treaty Reporting

The United States’ report on its compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, a treaty ratified by the US, is now several years overdue.  It was expected to be submitted in November 2017, but has never been submitted.  

However, the U.S. government appears to be moving ahead with its report under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.  The UN website indicates that the U.S. government’s report is expected to be submitted on April 2, 2020, after a period of delay.    

Perhaps the impending Universal Periodic Review of the U.S., scheduled for May 2020, has spurred the government to get back on track with its reporting obligations.  We can expect that the UPR will elicit comments from other nations on the U.S. government’s failure to submit its CERD report, as well as other commentary on human rights concerns.  It’s not too late for the US government to pre-empt some of these criticisms by submitting its long-overdue CERD report.