Combating racial discrimination: The effectiveness of an international legal regime

The use of an international legal regime as an avenue of redress for racial discrimination has a long history. The introduction of an International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1965 signalled the world's commitment to end racial discrimination. This article reviews the individual communications procedure under the Convention and analyses a few successful cases of complaint against racial discrimination. it argues that this mechanism provides a potent avenue of redress for racial discrimination. Social workers have much to offer in helping their clients to bring their cases to the international arena. In concert with NGOs and legal professionals, they could work to ensure that racial discrimination is tackled on both the domestic and international stages. Linking the global and local levels of intervention against racial discrimination should become the practice of every social worker, whatever their country or field of expertise.