Intergovernmental Working Group on the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action

Intergovernmental Working Group on the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action

About the Mandate

The Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action is one of the three mechanisms established to follow up the Declaration and Programme of Action of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, held in Durban , South Africa, in 2001. The Intergovernmental Working Group was established by Commission on Human Rights resolution 2002/68 and approved by the Economic and Social Council in its decision 2002/270 of 25 July 2002.

Its mandate, as spelled out in operative paragraph 7 of the Commission resolution 2002/68 is to:

(a) Make recommendations with a view to the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action;  

The Intergovernmental Working Group is an open-ended working group, meaning that all United Nations Member and Observer States , inter-governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations with ECOSOC consultative status and non-governmental organizations that were accredited for the World Conference against Racism may attend public meetings of the Working Group.

In 2022, the General Assembly though its resolution A/RES/76/226, entrusted the Intergovernmental Working Group to devote at least half of its session to the elaboration of a draft United Nations Declaration on the promotion and full respect of the human rights of people of African descent.

Amb. James Ndirangu Waweru, EBS, is the Deputy Permanent Representative, at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kenya to the United Nations Office in Geneva. He is the immediate former Registrar of Treaties, Office of Registrar of Treaties in the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs. An Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, and Certified Secretary, Amb. Waweru received an LL. B from Nagpur University, India, (1999), and an LL.M from Warwick University, United Kingdom, (2002), specializing in International Economic Law.

Amb. Waweru, was Legal Advisor at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kenya to the United Nations, New York, USA, (2013 – 2018). He has also served as a member of the Finance Committee of the International Seabed Authority, Kingston, Jamaica, representing the African Region. Previously, Amb. Waweru served as a Deputy Chief State Counsel in the Office of the Attorney General and Department of Justice, until his secondment to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2012. In the past 20 years, he has worked in the private and public legal sectors drafting, negotiating, vetting, and interpreting Treaties, Agreements, issuing advisory opinions on matters related to treaty law, maritime and aviation law, amongst others.

Amb. Waweru was appointed as an Ambassador in October, 2020 and has been honoured for his service by the His Excellency the President of the Republic of Kenya with the conferment of the national awards of the Order of the Grand Warrior of Kenya (OGW) in 2019, Moran of the Burning Spear (MBS) in 2022 and Elder of the Burning Spear (EBS) in 2023.

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Durban Declaration and Programme of Action

NGOs’ participation in the sessions of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action

A global call for concrete action for the elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action –Resolution of the General Assembly, A/RES/76/226, Seventy-sixth session, 10 January 2022

From rhetoric to reality: a global call for concrete action against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance – Resolution A/HRC/RES/42/29 of Human Rights Council, 42nd session, September 2019

Former chair rapporteur

H.E. Marie Chantal Rwakazina