CERD

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (‘CERD’ or ‘Committee’) is well known for its progressive interpretation of Article 4 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). The provision requires states to “condemn all propaganda and all organizations which attempt to justify or promote racial hatred and discrimination in any form” to combat racist hate speech.  In a line of cases concerning political speech – Jewish Community of Oslo et al v. Norway in 2005, Gelle v. Denmark in 2006, Adan v. Denmark in 2010 and finally TBB Turkish Union in Berlin/Brandenburg v. Germany in 2013,  the Committee made it no secret that it does not agree with national prosecutors and courts as to how to balance the protection of freedom of expression with combatting racist hate speech (also discussed on this blog). The recent case of Jallow v. Denmark consolidates the CERD’s firm stance on the interpretation of Article 4 in the context of satirical art. In this blog…