GENEVA (22 August 2024) - The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) today published the report of the ad hoc Conciliation Commission in the State of Palestine v. Israel case. The report details the conclusions and recommendations made by the ad hoc Commission for settling the dispute between the two state parties over the issues of racial discrimination. “The State of Palestine and Israel, as parties to the Convention, have the utmost responsibility to implement the recommendations made by the Commission,” said Michal Balcerzak, Chair of the Committee. “And all States parties share the significant responsibility of assisting them in that endeavour,” he added. The ad hoc Conciliation Commission was set up in 2022 under Article 12(1) b of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and was composed of five human rights experts from the Committee. The Commission emphasised that concrete steps toward a mutually agreed and lasting delimitation of borders between the States parties and ending the de facto policy of colonisation and segregation in the occupied territories are necessary for the protection of the rights of both Palestinians and Israelis under the Convention. The Commission stressed the shared responsibility of all States parties to the Convention in eliminating racial discrimination. It underlined that respecting the rule of law and combatting impunity in cases of racial discrimination are key elements in the process toward a solution to the dispute between the State of Palestine and Israel. The release of the Commission’s report marks the final stage of the inter-state procedure initiated by the State of Palestine in 2018 under Article 11 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The report is available online. For more information and media requests in Geneva, please contact: Vivian Kwok at vivian.kwok@un.org UN Human Rights Office Media Section at ohchr-media@un.org Background The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination monitors States parties’ adherence to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which, to date has 182 States parties. The Committee is made up of 18 members who are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world, who serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties. Learn more with our animations on the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination! Follow the UN Treaty Bodies on social media! We are on Twitter @UNTreatyBodies Situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel See all Media coverage of the situation