Summary

In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance analyses the threat posed by nationalist populism to the fundamental human rights principles of non-discrimination and equality. The focus of the report is ascendant nationalist populist ideologies and strategies that pose a sobering threat to racial equality by fuelling discrimination, intolerance and the creation of institutions and structures that will have enduring legacies of racial exclusion. The report condemns nationalist populism that advances exclusionary or repressive practices and policies that harm individuals or groups on the basis of their race, ethnicity, national origin and religion, including in combina tion with gender, sexual orientation, disability status, migratory status or other related social categories. The objectives of the present report are: (a) to contribute a measure of analytical clarity to human rights debates regarding nationalist populism; (b) to map the most pressing of the dangers it poses from a racial equality perspective; and (c) to recall the international human rights equality and non-discrimination standards that apply in this context.