HIGH-LEVEL PANEL CALLS FOR FURTHER MEASURES TO BATTLE RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AND BIAS

19 September 2003

The group of eminent persons charged with working with the High Commissioner for Human Rights to follow up on the action plan of the 2001 World Conference against Racism has underlined in Geneva the importance in the struggle against discrimination of awareness-raising and access to education, access to justice, in particular for those who have historically suffered from racial discrimination, and the need for national plans of action against bias, encouraging States to complete such plans"with meaningful participation from national human rights institutions and civil society".

In a statement issued at the end of a three-day meeting, the group said it was convinced its work "should follow a humanitarian vision based on an 'ethic of human solidarity'" and stressed the centrality of human dignity, respect for diversity and the importance of effective measures of protection for civilians.

The high-level experts - Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, Edna Maria Santos Roland of Brazil, Salim Ahmed Salim of Tanzania, Hanna Suchocka of Poland and Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari of Finland - were appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to assist the High Commissioner for Human Rights in following the implementation of the provisions of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action of the World Conference and in assessing and evaluating existing legal instruments to combat racial discrimination. Mr. Ahtisaari was unable to attend this first meeting.

In their statement, the experts said they had paid special attention to the need to safeguard against racial discrimination and xenophobia in the struggle against terrorism. They urged strict adherence to the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in carrying out counterterrorism measures.

Following their deliberations from 16 to 18 September, during which they held discussions with acting High Commissioner for Human Rights Bertrand Ramcharan and others, the experts also recommended that the international community find ways of measuring existing racial inequalities. "A possible way to achieve this", they said, "could be through the development of a 'Racial Equality Index', similar to the 'Human Development Index' developed and used by the United Nations Development Programme".

The group is an advisory body to the High Commissioner. Mr. Ramcharan said the Office of the High Commissioner appreciated their advice and insights and looked forward to their support in the future.


The statement of the eminent persons can be found on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (www.ohchr.org). Biographical information on the experts can be found by following this link. For further information, contact José Luis Díaz (e-mail jdiaz@ohchr.org, tel+41 22 917 9242, fax+41 22 917 9004) or Gloria Nwabuogu (e-mail, gnwabuogu@ohchr.org, tel+41 22 917 9394, fax+41 22 917 9050), Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations Office at Geneva.