110 COLUM. J. RACE & L. [Vol. 11:83 8 was deleted at the 808th meeting. 113 Following deletion of Article 8 from the draft Convention, the representative of France moved at the 809th meeting of the Commission to reconsider Article 1, paragraph 1, with a view to deciding whether the word “national” should be retained.114 After further discussion and a series of textual proposals, the Commission agreed at its 810th meeting to place the word “national” within square brackets, and to add the following words, also in square brackets, at the end of the paragraph: “In this paragraph the expression ‘national origin’ does not cover the status of any person as a citizen of a given State.” 115 At the conclusion of the Twentieth Session of the Commission on Human Rights, Draft Article 1 read as follows: In this Convention the term “racial discrimination” shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, [national] or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.116 The language of Article 1 of the draft Convention arose again at the Twentieth Session of the General Assembly. Article 1(3) was initially conceived as a replacement of Article 8 in light of the decision to retain the reference to national origin in Article 1(1). Although a number of states called for the deletion of all brackets, it was felt that some explanation to eliminate the ambiguity of the word “national” was necessary, specifically following the deletion of Article 8. 117 For example, the representative of France observed that “it was not surprising that the term ‘national origin’ had given rise to difficulties, since it could be interpreted in two entirely different ways,” one sociological and the other legal.118 Like the original Article 8, the 113 LERNER, U.N. CONVENTION, supra note 93, at 27. 114 Id. 115 Id. 116 U.N. ESCOR, 37th Sess., Supp. 8, supra note 109, at 111. (“In this paragraph the expression ‘national origin’ does not cover the status of any person as a citizen of a given State.”). 117 U.N. GAOR, 20th Sess., 1304th mtg. at 83–86, U.N. Doc. A/C.3/SR.1304 (Oct. 14, 1965). 118 Goolam E. Vahanwati, Presentation Before the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (Feb. 26, 2007), https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CERD/Shared%20Documents/Ind/INT_CE RD_STA_Ind_70_11102_E.pdf [https://perma.cc/QWE5-JQRZ].