Volker Türk to Human Rights Council: No Country Can Claim to be Free of Racism and More Needs to be Done to Combat Systemic Racism and Discrimination that Permeate Social Structures, Institutions and Technologies

Council Continues General Debate on Follow-Up to and Implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action

Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, this afternoon told the Human Rights Council that despite the many and important steps forward, today, no country could claim to be free of racism and more needed to be done to combat systemic racism and discrimination that permeated social structures, institutions and technologies. 

Mr. Türk was the key-note speaker at the debate held by the Council in commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, under the theme of the urgency of combatting racism and racial discrimination 75 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The High Commissioner said this year marked the seventy-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  As the international community celebrated the landmark vision of the Declaration, there was also an opportunity to reinvigorate it and to inject new urgency into the fundamental commitments to humanity that it contained.  Around the world, many anti-racism movements had been key to the human rights cause, including the struggles against apartheid, and more recent movements such as Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate.  Yet, despite the many and important steps forward, today, no country could claim to be free of racism.   More needed to be done to combat systemic racism and discrimination that permeated social structures, institutions and technologies. 

Epsy Campbell Barr, Chair of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, said it was essential to bolster all strategies to protect victims and create a new document through which the rights of all would be upheld.  It was essential for people of African descent to raise their voices and be part of the historic strategy to uproot the colonial practice of systemic racism.  Systemic racism was an unacceptable reality which needed to be faced with actions and commitments.  The issue of racial equality was part of the agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals, which would not be achieved if the international community did not collectively commit to eradicating racism.

Verene A. Shepherd, Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, said the global community had made strides over the past 75 years in terms of the efforts towards the elimination of racism and racial discrimination.  Apartheid had ended in South Africa.  The superstructure of slavery had been dismantled.  Racist laws and practices had been abolished in many countries.  Colonialism had ended in many more countries.  There remained a pervasive failure by most former colonial powers to acknowledge the existence and impact of systemic racism and its linkages with enslavement and colonialism.  It was important to re-double efforts as a global community to use the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination as two critical roadmaps to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.

Doudou Diène, Rapporteur of the Advisory Board of the Foundation for the Remembrance of Slavery and former Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, said combatting contemporary manifestations of racism must be linked to the issue of multiculturalism and articulated around two pillars: a political and legal pillar to eliminate its social and economic manifestations, and a cultural and ethical pillar to eradicate its root cultural sources that entrenched stereotypes and stigmatisation.  A mix of factors related to race/ethnicity, religion and culture factors.  This amalgam was the translation of a new ideological context structured by three major contemporary developments that carried these factors to varying degrees.  First was immigration.  Second was the fight against terrorism.  Third was the emergence of new identity constructions.  This melting pot was reflected in several negative consequences in the fight against racism and xenophobia.

Saadia Mosbah, President of Mnemty Organization, said despite the progress made, racial discrimination remained an obstacle to the implementation of human rights in many areas by creating exclusion based on race, colour, descent and national origin.  The importance of the recommendation contained in the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, which aimed to strengthen and update international agreements on combatting racism and racial discrimination, should be highlighted.  It was no longer just a question of systematic racism, but also of structural racism and xenophobia.  The international community should work together to end racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; strengthen the capacities of people of African descent and other minorities residing in the Middle East and North Africa region; and strengthen accountability and racial justice for all without discrimination.

In the ensuing discussion, speakers said 75 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 22 years after the adoption of the Durban Declaration, there was still some way to go to eradicate racism and discrimination in societies.  This was a priority for the Human Rights Council, which should continue to speak for the voiceless and lead the debate on the need to sensitise all on the fight against racism, prejudice and intolerance, and express abhorrence of such acts wherever they occurred.  Concrete and coordinated actions were still necessary to support human rights and to combat all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance.  Racism had its roots in ethno-nationalism, and pervaded migration narratives, laws and practices, leading to exclusion, stigmatisation, and criminalisation of migrants, and it was urgent to dismantle systemic racism in migration governance.

Speaking in the discussion were Côte d'Ivoire on behalf of the group of African States, Brazil on behalf of a group of countries, Iceland on behalf of a group of countries, Barbados on behalf of the Caribbean Community, European Union, Oman on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Bolivia, United States, United Nations Economic, Social and Cultural Organization, Tunisia, Colombia, Russian Federation, Holy See, Azerbaijan, Türkiye, Portugal, United Nations Women, Costa Rica, Armenia, China, United Kingdom, Lesotho, Namibia, United Nations Population Fund, and Timor-Leste.

Also speaking were International Service for Human Rights, International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations, Friends World Committee for Consultation, World Jewish Congress, Rencontre Africaine pour la defense des droits de l'homme, and Centre Zagros pour les Droits de l'Homme.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Council continued its general debate on follow-up to and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.  The general debate started in the previous meeting and a summary can be found here.

In the general debate, speakers said the thirtieth anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action offered a great opportunity for reflection and re-commitment.  The promotion and protection of human rights should be holistic, and target the human person as the central subject of development.  Undoubtedly huge global strides had been made in the promotion and protection of human rights; however, for most of the developing world, political freedom and all talk of human rights remained largely meaningless in as far as it had not resulted into tangible social-economic development of the people.  The international community should take this anniversary as an opportunity to give equal opportunity to all human rights. 

Speaking in the general debate were Malawi, China, Pakistan, Ukraine, Viet Nam, France on behalf of a group of countries, United States, Tunisia, Russian Federation, Israel, Colombia, Venezuela, Tanzania, Indonesia, Bahrain, Iraq, Armenia, Austria, Albania, Afghanistan, Mauritania, Azerbaijan, Sri Lanka, Lesotho, Iran, and Syria.

Also speaking were European Centre for Law and Justice, International Muslim Women's Union, International Lesbian and Gay Association, Human Rights and Democratic Participation Centre "SHAMS", China Foundation for Human Rights Development, Bahrain Jurists Society, Asociacion HazteOir.org, Conselho Indigenista Missionário, Interfaith International, United Nations Association of China, International Council Supporting Fair Trial and Human Rights, Al Baraem Association for Charitable Work, World Jewish Congress, Institute for NGO Research, Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling, Villages Unis, and The International Organisation for LDCs.

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-second regular session can be found here.

The Council will next meet at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 30 March, when it will conclude the general debate under agenda item eight on follow-up to and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, and then hold 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.

General Debate Under Agenda Item Eight on Follow-Up to and Implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action

The general debate under agenda item eight on follow-up to and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme started in the previous meeting and a summary can be found here.

Some speakers said the thirtieth anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action offered a great opportunity for reflection and re-commitment.  The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action emphasised that human rights were universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated.  The promotion and protection of human rights should be holistic, and target the human person as the central subject of development.  Undoubtedly huge global strides had been made in the promotion and protection of human rights; however, for most of the developing world, political freedom and all talk of human rights remained largely meaningless in as far as it had not resulted into tangible social economic development of the people.  There should be concerted efforts to ensure that development agendas were properly anchored in the values of human rights.

The international community should take this anniversary as an opportunity to give equal opportunity to all human rights.  People should always be put front of centre: the benefits of development should be more fairly and sustainably distributed to all to ensure happiness and growth.  All parties should respect each other’s independent choices of their human rights path, maintain constructive dialogue in addressing divergence, jettison politicisation and double standards, and refrain from imposing one’s model on others, let alone using human rights as a political tool to interfere in the activities of other States.

It was important to re-emphasise the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action’s pronouncement of the universality, indivisibility, interdependence, and interrelatedness of all human rights, shifting away from the rigid divide between civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights.  The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action’s call to the international community to treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing and with the same emphasis, continued to be greatly relevant.

The international community was faced with unprecedented and extraordinary human rights challenges, including flagrant violations of international law.  Without regular and unhindered access to those under occupation and detention, the human rights bodies could not provide an independent assessment of the conditions that they were in, nor could they ensure that justice would be brought to victims.  The principles of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action must be translated into a real situation in which there would be no place for wars and suffering, and human rights were respected at the highest level.

All States and all stakeholders should constructively engage and reflect on the achievements, best practices and challenges, and explore possibilities of dialogue and cooperation for the full realisation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  All States should organise cooperation in the human rights area on the basis of the norms of international law, and engage in respectful dialogue on human rights, without dishonestly interpreting these fundamental documents for the benefit of only certain countries and political blocs: many States were using them to keep the international community stuck in the past and undermine progress that had been made in the achievement of the human rights of all. 

Debate in Commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on the Theme of the Urgency of Combatting Racism and Racial Discrimination 75 Years After the Adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Statement by the High Commissioner for Human Rights

VOLKER TÜRK, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said racial discrimination was a scourge, not only because of its harm to individuals and communities, but also because it undermined the values of equality and dignity and weakened social and national cohesion.  It eroded trust and could threaten peace.

This year marked the seventy-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  The opening promise of the Declaration was that all people were entitled to all rights and freedoms without distinction of any kind, including on the basis of race.  This was one of the founding principles of the human rights cause, which had been reinforced in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, and other instruments.  As the international community celebrated the landmark vision of the Declaration, there was also an opportunity to reinvigorate it and to inject new urgency into the fundamental commitments to humanity that it contained.  Around the world, many anti-racism movements had been key to the human rights cause, including the struggles against apartheid, and more recent movements such as Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate.  Yet, despite the many and important steps forward, today, no country could claim to be free of racism.   More needed to be done to combat systemic racism and discrimination that permeated social structures, institutions and technologies. 

Earlier this month, Mr. Türk said he had issued an open letter as part of the Office’s Human Rights 75 initiative, urging Member States to take specific actions to deliver on the promise of equality and non-discrimination set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  He had called for the adoption and implementation of comprehensive national laws, policies and national action plans to eliminate racism and racial discrimination, and to halt the rising wave of xenophobia.  The newly established Permanent Forum of People of African Descent and the elaboration of a United Nations declaration on the promotion, protection and full respect of the human rights of people of African descent were important opportunities for progress.  So was the elaboration of a draft additional protocol to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, criminalising acts of a racist and xenophobic nature.  Member States were called on to support and finalise those processes.  Together the international community had the chance to re-imagine the commitments of the Universal Declaration, and build societies centred on equality and dignity for all.

Statements by the Panellists

EPSY CAMPBELL BARR, Chair of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, said it was essential to bolster all strategies to protect victims and create a new document through which the rights of all would be upheld.  It was essential for people of African descent to raise their voices and be part of the historic strategy to uproot the colonial practice of systemic racism.  This was a State structure that led to actions that discarded millions, and also a cultural practice in which exclusion and racial discrimination became commonplace for many millions, including even going so far as to losing their lives as a result.  Systemic racism was an unacceptable reality which needed to be faced with actions and commitments.  The issue of racial equality was part of the agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals, which would not be achieved if the international community did not collectively commit to eradicating racism. 

The structure of racism existed across the board: there needed to be awareness raising across society, with new forms of education in schools, the media and universities.  The international community needed to look at how it was protecting the victims of racism and racial discrimination, using arts and culture to generate new conventions.  The impact of racism needed to be recognised as economic, social and cultural, but also personal, as it affected millions who felt swept aside.  The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination must show results, for all groups, such as the Roma, offering girls and boys a society that was fair and inclusive, in which racism was a thing of the past, and the dignity of persons was the condition in which all lived, in a social order that respected all human beings.

VERENE A. SHEPHERD, Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, said this year, the commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination coincided with the seventy-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  The global community had made strides over these 75 years in terms of the efforts towards the elimination of racism and racial discrimination.  Apartheid had ended in South Africa.  The superstructure of slavery had been dismantled.  Racist laws and practices had been abolished in many countries.  Colonialism had ended in many more countries.  And the United Nations had built an international framework for fighting racism. 

Today, too many peoples’ rights continued to be undermined by the prevalence of systemic racism and racial discrimination against Africans and people of African descent, Asians and people of Asian descent, migrants, asylum seekers and ethnic minorities.  There remained a pervasive failure by most former colonial powers to acknowledge the existence and impact of systemic racism and its linkages with enslavement and colonialism.  It was important to re-double efforts as a global community to use the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination as two critical roadmaps to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.

DOUDOU DIÈNE, Rapporteur of the Advisory Board of the Foundation for the Remembrance of Slavery and former Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, said combatting contemporary manifestations of racism must be linked to the issue of multiculturalism and articulated around two pillars: a political and legal pillar to eliminate its social and economic manifestations and a cultural and ethical pillar to eradicate its root cultural sources that entrenched stereotypes and stigmatisation.  A mix of factors related to race/ethnicity, religion and culture.  This amalgam was the translation of a new ideological context structured by three major contemporary developments that carried these factors to varying degrees.  First was immigration.  Second was the fight against terrorism.  Third was the emergence of new identity constructions which, particularly in response to globalisation, produced identity confinements that essentialised the factors of race, religion or culture.  This melting pot was reflected in several negative consequences in the fight against racism and xenophobia.

Racism and xenophobic political platforms were focused on a narrative of defending national identity, based on a deeply rooted identity crisis due to the contradiction of old nation States and the dynamic multicultural identity of nations.  Diversity was targeted as undermining identity.  The ideological conflict of the Cold War was being replaced by a new system of cultural conflict.  A multiculturalism must be built that upheld equality, democracy and inter-relations.

SAADIA MOSBAH, President of Mnemty Organization, said progress had been seen in the evolution of international human rights instruments to eliminate racial discrimination.  These included the Programme of Action of the Durban Declaration, the International Decade for People of African Descent, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent.  However, it was not until Black Lives Matter and other movements occurred that the need for racial justice mechanisms was recalled.  Despite the progress made, racial discrimination remained an obstacle to the implementation of human rights in many areas by creating exclusion based on race, colour, descent and national origin. 

Some countries denied racism existed, still having practices of modern slavery and trafficking, especially for people of African descent.  In Tunisia, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination was ratified in 1967.  However, the adoption of a national law against racial discrimination took more than half a century, till October 2018.  Despite the progress made in Tunisia, there was still a long way to go in the region while the effectiveness of the laws remained very limited.  The Mnemty organization had organised various campaigns and mobilised every effort to counter opposition to the law.  The rise of racism, hate speech, assaults and treatment of foreigners targeting only sub-Saharan migrants had reached its peak.  It was no longer just a question of systematic racism, but also of structural racism and xenophobia.  The international community should work together to end racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; strengthen the capacities of people of African descent and other minorities residing in the Middle East and North Africa region; and strengthen accountability and racial justice for all without discrimination.

Discussion

Some speakers said 75 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 22 years after the adoption of the Durban Declaration, there was still some way to go to eradicate racism and discrimination in societies.  This was a priority for the Human Rights Council, which should continue to speak for the voiceless and lead the debate on the need to sensitise all on the fight against racism, prejudice and intolerance, and express abhorrence of such acts wherever they occurred.  Concrete and coordinated actions were still necessary to support human rights and to combat all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance. 

The draft United Nations declaration on the promotion and full respect of the human rights of people of African descent was one more instrument to better protect and guarantee the rights of victims of racism.  It should be constructed through inclusive and constructive dialogue, addressing access to justice, collective memory, the link to ones’ initial territories, and include a component relating to reparation, restating the commitment to combat different forms of discrimination, inequality, and violence based on gender and sex.  Racism had its roots in ethno-nationalism, and pervaded migration narratives, laws, and practices, leading to exclusion, stigmatisation, and criminalisation of migrants.  It was urgent to dismantle systemic racism in migration governance.

Speakers appealed to all to continue to acknowledge the horrors of the past, including the slave trade and slavery, and the systemic inequalities caused by people having been enslaved, and to engage in serious discussions with a view to implementing concrete mechanisms for redress.  Fighting racism also meant eliminating barriers, reducing wealth disparities, criminal justice bias, as well as defying stereotypes and prejudices.  Any system of oppression was ultimately one where all lost.  Efforts to solve these challenges must be founded on respect for human rights, and the inherent dignity and equality of every person.  An inclusive civic space, with diverse and meaningful participation, representation and leadership, was imperative for transformative change.  This required indicating and eliminating structural inequalities and implementing well-targeted policy measures.

Women and girls, as well as persons in vulnerable situations, often faced multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and marginalisation.  Their perspectives must be heard and translated into action.  Eliminating racism required decisive, coordinated, and sustained efforts to achieve real change and progress towards a world where human rights were ensured for all, without discrimination of any kind, and where no one was left behind.  To confront racial discrimination in all its forms was essential, as it threatened social peace and the human rights game, impeding the international community’s progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.  International efforts needed to be unified through solid plans to eliminate racism and to build societies based on tolerance, condemning the discourse based on racial superiority and hatred.  Combatting racism was a moral imperative, and must be confronted.

To combat racism, the world needed effective human rights educational and outreach programmes, and all should stand together for the full and effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, and do justice to this great document as a priority contribution to the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  Hatred targeted one particular group, but it was the whole society that was really targeted, the rule of law and democracy.

Concluding Remarks

EPSY CAMPBELL BARR, Chair of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, said it was extremely important that an end was put to apartheid, colonial domination and discriminatory practices.  Many people of African descent were victims of systemic racism and were raising their voices to have a decent life of justice and equality.  Living in a world free of racism was still pending for millions of people.  There needed to be true political commitment to address racial discrimination through effectively implementing the Durban Declaration and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.  It was also important to strengthen legislation and its implementation.  Member States needed to urgently forge a consensus to combat racial discrimination, including through participation in the General Assembly, the Council and all mechanisms which combatted racism. 

VERENE SHEPHERD, Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, said addressing systemic and structural racism needed to be a priority in policies to promote the inclusion of marginalised people, and build trust in these communities.  All States should explore ways for engaging in a reparatory justice conversation for those who suffered from legacies of colonialism and the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.  States should fight against the surge of nationalism, and reflect on the root causes of stereotypes, and work to deconstruct these messages, working towards a world of tolerance and inclusion.  Education should be used as a tool to trigger changes in mentalities. 

DOUDOU DIÈNE, Rapporteur of the Advisory Board of the Foundation for the Remembrance of Slavery and former Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, said he had four specific recommendations: the international community should closely link the issue of racism to democracy and indicate how important this link was, as political leaders needed to cover racism in their political agendas in many countries.  From an electoral point of view, the whole legitimisation of racism through new theories should be borne in mind, as should how complex the issue of combatting racism was on a global basis.  The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action needed to be fully implemented and in combatting racism the principle of universality had to be invoked.  The fundamental area where work must be done was in ensuring that there was a democratic and equal multicultural society.

SAADIA MOSBAH, President of Mnemty Organization, said in order to eliminate or deconstruct racism and racial discrimination in combatting systemic and structural racism in North Africa, there was a need for political will, which was lacking in some areas.  States in the area needed social, cultural and political strategies.  Strict implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action should be monitored in these regions.  The protection of minorities needed to be real and not just on paper: laws must be implemented.  Strategies and recommendations must be strengthened in these States so as to move forward in these areas.  The world must work and join together as a unified network in combatting racism: it was urgent to see what was actually occurring, in particular in countries where migrants were frequently targeted.

Link: https://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/meeting-summary/2023/03/afternoon-volker-turk-human-rights-council-no-country-can-claim

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