Learn, Speak up, Act! is a global call for concrete action against racism, discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. The challenges posed by these problems are not new, neither are their solutions. What is needed is action – by governments, institutions, groups and individuals – all of us.

Education is a tool to fight racism

Everyone has the right to learn about the history of racism, slavery, and colonialism, and to be taught about human rights tools to fight against oppression, racism and discrimination.

Actions speak as loud as words

Speaking out against intolerances can lead to participation in concrete actions, both being key in the fight against racism, discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

We all are agents of change

We all have the power to tackle racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. What is necessary now is the courage, the will and the drive to act.

The path to #FightRacism

Racial profiling by law enforcement officers. Inequalities in employment, education and health exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The uptick in hate speech online and in real life towards racial and ethnic minorities. Xenophobic actions aimed at migrants and other people on the move. These are all stark reminders that the global community still has not done enough to tackle the pervasiveness of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA), and the International Decade for People of African Descent 2015-2024 (the Decade) are key frameworks and tools, providing guidance to address racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance. These tools also address the legacy of past forms of these challenges and their current manifestations.

The UN Human Rights Office raises awareness on existing norms, documents, anti-racism bodies and even its own work on fighting racism, discrimination and related intolerance. The international community has the individual and collective responsibility to take concrete action against these challenges. 

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Galvanising the power of collective action and a global consensus to address racism and racial discrimination is urgent for all of us. The unequivocal demands for change need to be heard and heeded in the halls of every Ministry, of every court, of every police station, in every country.

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Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

 

 

Highlights

Still of Marcia Rigg (left) and Dayana Blanco during the Enhanced Interactive Dialogue (EID) during the 54th session of the UN Human Rights Council. © OHCHR/Pierre Albouy
October 2023 People of African descent

Participation is key to ending systemic racism

Following the death in police custody of her brother Sean 15 years ago, Marcia Rigg worked and campaigned with other families of victims of police brutality in the United Kingdom and managed to change policy. Participation of people of African descent is key to achieve positive change and, ultimately, to put an end to systemic racism.
© Getty
October 2023 Racism

Racism, discrimination are legacies of colonialism

The weight of colonialism is still being carried today in the Global South, where political independence and decolonization have not been matched by sustainable development and the full enjoyment of human rights, including the right to development and socioeconomic rights, a UN report said.
2nd session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent at the UN in New York, 2023. © OHCHR
August 2023 People of African descent

Making concrete moves to end racism globally

Imagined by the people of African descent for the people of African descent, the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent is a milestone in the struggle for racial equity, which has given more visibility to the current legacies of colonialism and the concrete actions required to end racism globally.
Still of Bianca Jones as she stands alongside youth organizers in Douglass Park addressing a crowd who has come to show support for the park renaming at their Campaign Relaunch Rally on July 18, 2020. © Kaleb Autman
May 2023 People of African descent

Know the past to change the present

Taking concrete action against racism and colonialism can be as simple as changing a name. United States elementary school teacher Bianca Jones and her students did just that, when they embarked on a quest to change the name of a park in a predominantly Black neighbourhood in Chicago – from that of a slave owner to that of abolitionists -- succeeded.

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Our supporters

Tenoch Huerta, Actor and anti-racism fighter

Tenoch Huerta

Actor and anti-racism fighter
Lenny Kravitz

Lenny Kravitz

Musician, whose single "Here to love" is the soundtrack of the #FightRacism campaign
Kevin Prince Boateng

Kevin Prince Boateng

Footballer who famously walked off the pitch to protest racism
Yalitza Aparicio

Yalitza Aparicio

Oscar-nominated indigenous actress
Roben X

Roben X

Anti-bullying activist, and leading champion of our campaign on people with Albinism
Rupi Kaur

Rupi Kaur

Best-selling poet, illustrator, photographer, and author
Emicida

Emicida

One of Brazil's most famous rappers, campaigning for racial and social justice
El Chojin

El Chojin

Musician for whom hip-hop is an intermediary to talk about the human rights, racism and inequality
Adama Dieng

Adama Dieng

Former UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide
Protest march for human rights

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