AFTERNOON - Human Rights Council Continues General Debate on Agenda Item Nine on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Forms of Intolerance, Follow-Up to and Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action
The Human Rights Council this afternoon continued the general debate under agenda item nine on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, follow-up to and implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, hearing speakers urge the global community to remain resolute in its commitment to eradicate the scourges of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
The general debate started in the previous meeting and a summary can be found here.
In the debate, some speakers said the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action remained the United Nations’ blueprint to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance globally. It was also a victim-centred document which offered practical steps that needed to be taken to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. The systemic nature of all these had been well documented. Consequently, much more than mere rhetoric was required to effectively combat racism and all forms of intolerance.
Despite the significance of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, some speakers regretted persistent efforts to undermine its follow-up and implementation by casting doubt on its validity and relevance. In the fight against racism, unity was of utmost importance. The international community must work together in order to address the underlying root causes and various manifestations of racism and discrimination. To effectively address racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance, including Islamophobia, it was imperative to resist and oppose all manifestations of hatred, particularly those rooted in myths, stereotypes, and fear of the unknown.
The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action set out a clear roadmap for States and civil society to follow in the effort to dismantle systemic or structural racism in their societies, some speakers said. Had States fully and effectively implemented this Programme of Action, many of the mechanisms that annually reported to the Council would not have been necessary because the world would have made significant progress in eliminating the scourge of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. It was high time to put aside excuses to not implement this most important roadmap, and recommit to tackle this seemingly never-ending scourge of racism and racial discrimination that afflicted societies.
Some speakers called on the Human Rights Council mechanisms and Special Procedures mandate holders to effectively address these issues and refrain from remaining silent, as silence only served to perpetuate such acts. It was not enough to be neutral or not racist; one should be anti-racist. Ignorance and indifference should have no place in society. The international community must speak as one against racism, a speaker said, quoting the United Nations Secretary-General. Racism, racial discrimination and related intolerance were an abuse of human rights that affected all countries.
The ramifications of colonialism were still present, some speakers said. The historical injustices born of colonialism had shaped the unequal geopolitical landscape of today. Radical ideologies were growing in many parts of the world; ideologies that incited hatred towards races, ethnicities, religions, cultures and migrants, hatred that was aimed against unity and diversity. The work to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance was a primary responsibility of States, however, a speaker said, more had to be done, whilst not forgetting that the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action emphasised that poverty, underdevelopment, marginalisation, social exclusion and economic disparities were closely associated with racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
Symptoms of discrimination must be fought at their roots to eradicate the system of racism, which was often a heritage of the colonial past and a legacy of untold suffering in many parts of the world, one speaker said. Entrenched racism and racial discrimination must be erased. The slave trade and colonialism were the main source of racism, and relevant countries should show courage, and own their history, fight all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, live up to the commitments of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, and take the lead in promoting equality, breaking the vicious cycle of social injustice and racism.
Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related forms of intolerance were abhorrent and had no place in the world. These manifestations of hatred and prejudice undermined the principles of equality, justice and human dignity that underpinned the collective efforts to promote and protect human rights. It was imperative that the global community remained resolute in its commitment to eradicate these scourges, a speaker said.
There was a need to develop a more comprehensive anti-hate speech legislation to prevent racist acts at the root cause. States should adopt and implement legal frameworks that would ensure accountability for those responsible for incitement to racial and religious hatred, and adopt and implement legal frameworks that would ensure accountability for those perpetrators responsible for inciting racial and religious hatred. Racism and religious intolerance had been used to divide societies, as well as the Council: it must not fall into this trap.
Only with the spirit of unity and multilateralism as guiding values could the world move from rhetoric to reality in combatting racism, a speaker said. The work that needed to be done needed to be as inclusive as possible, taking into account the input of individuals, and the economic, social and cultural rights of peoples. Humanity maintained a great debt to the victims of racism today, and the world needed more concrete action, and less in the way of political discourse to eradicate the abhorrent discriminatory racist practices that continued. The Council could not be complicit to this situation that existed in many areas of the world, particularly in the developed countries, a speaker pointed out. Eradicating racism was a generational commitment.
Great nations did not hide from their shortcomings: they acknowledged them, growing from the past into the present. All voices must be listened to, and past wrongs redressed in the search for a more perfect union, strengthening society, and championing human rights defenders everywhere, a speaker said. All nations should join hands in this endeavour, as these issues knew no borders. By upholding the principles of equality, justice and human dignity, the international community could collectively work towards a world free from the scourge of racism and intolerance.
Speaking in the general debate were Malawi, Malaysia, Germany, China, South Africa, Bangladesh, Morocco, Cuba, Algeria, United States, Bolivia, Sudan, Honduras, France, Luxembourg, India, Pakistan, Gambia, Côte d'Ivoire, Portugal on behalf of Community of Portuguese Language Countries, Iraq, Bahrain, Israel, Armenia, Türkiye, Colombia, Ireland, State of Palestine, Russian Federation, Indonesia, Zimbabwe, Peru, Namibia Australia, Tunisia, Djibouti, Nigeria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Uganda, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Azerbaijan, Madagascar, Brazil, Iran, and European Union on behalf of a group of countries.
Also speaking were International Foundation Witnesses Ashoora, Institute for NGO Research, Elizka Relief Foundation, World Jewish Congress, Legal Analysis and Research Public Union, Institut International pour les Droits et le Développement, Al-Haq, Law in the Service of Man, Khiam Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture, Global Institute for Water, Environment and Health, Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience, International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations, Human Rights & Democratic Participation Centre "SHAMS", Conectas Direitos Humanos, Association pour la défense des droits de l'homme et des revendications démocratiques/culturelles du peuple Azerbaidjanais-Iran - « ARC », Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling, Youth Parliament for SDG, Asociacion HazteOir.org, BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, Association of Iranian Short Statured Adults, Humanists International, Union of Northwest Human Rights Organisation, ArabEuropean Forum for Dialogue and Human Rights, United Towns Agency for North-South Cooperation, Sikh Human Rights Group, Le conseil universel des droits de l'homme, Platform for Youth Integration and Volunteerism, International Service for Human Rights, China Foundation for Human Rights Development, Integrated Youth Empowerment - Common Initiative Group, Asociacion Cubana de las Naciones Unidas (Cuban United Nations Association), Amnesty International, Regional Centre for the Welfare of Ageing Persons in Cameroon, Association Ma'onah for Human Rights and Immigration, Servas International, Association pour l'Intégration et le Développement Durable au Burundi, International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, Indigenous People of Africa Coordinating Committee, and International-Lawyers.Org.
Speaking in right of reply at the end of the meeting were Israel, Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The webcast of the Human Rights Council meetings can be found here. All meeting summaries can be found here. Documents and reports related to the Human Rights Council’s fifty-fourth regular session can be found here.
The Council will next meet at 10 a.m. on Monday, 9 October, when it will conclude the general debate on racism and racial discrimination. The Council will then hold an interactive dialogue on the oral update of the High Commissioner on the findings in the report of the Office of the High Commissioner on the situation of human rights in Ukraine, after which it will hold an enhanced interactive dialogue on the reports of the High Commissioner and the team of international experts on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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HRC23.143E