Pillay calls on states to act on promises to fight racism and intolerance

6 October 2008



GENEVA (OHCHR) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Monday said that “racism, xenophobia, discrimination and intolerance are problems that occur shamefully on a daily basis across the world,” and called for a more concerted effort by states to act on promises to tackle these “odious practices.”

Referring to a landmark blueprint document agreed by governments attending the 2001 World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, Pillay said “implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action still lags sorely and lamentably behind the solemn commitments that states pledged to fulfil seven years ago.”

She urged governments “to travel that extra mile that makes historic change possible,” adding that pledges “must be reflected in policies, institutions and legislation which benefit individuals and communities by tangibly improving their lives.”

Pillay was addressing a preparatory meeting for a Review Conference next April that will examine progress since the 2001 World Conference. A former President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, created in the wake of the 1994 Rwandan genocide which resulted in the deaths of some 800,000 people, she stressed the dangers of failing to tackle intolerant attitudes before they translate into violence.

“I know – I am sure that we all know – the consequences of allowing discrimination, inequality and intolerance to fester and then spiral out of control can be genocidal,” she said.

Describing the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action as “holistic,” Pillay pointed out that it is “neither restricted to the legal definition of the term ‘racism,’ nor is it limited to narrow measures to combat this scourge. Rather, it encompasses far-reaching measures for strengthening education, fighting poverty, securing development, improving the remedies and resources available to victims of racism, and bolstering respect for the rule of law and for human rights.”

She urged all states to participate in the process “to ensure that victims of racism, inequality, injustice and intolerance are not left to believe that the international community is incapable of overcoming its differences in order to properly and fully address their plight.”

Referring to the lingering controversy and divisions dating back to the original World Conference in 2001, Pillay called for a more forward-looking approach: “Seven years ago… the virulent anti-Semitic behaviour of a few non-governmental organizations on the sidelines of the Durban Conference overshadowed the critically important work of the Conference. Measures were taken to address this betrayal of the core principles of the Durban Conference, and the NGO document was not forwarded to the Conference. The legacy of this Conference is and should be the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, a framework adopted by consensus that has given us a comprehensive plan of action to combat racism in all its manifestations. The Declaration expresses deep concern over the increase in anti-Semitism around the world and alarm over increasing prejudice related to religious beliefs, including Islamophobia.”

The review process, she said, provides a “much needed opportunity to assess and accelerate progress on implementation of the Programme of Action, which would help end all forms of discrimination including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Unfortunately, this review process is burdened, understandably, with a fear that incidents expressing hatred and intolerance will be repeated. It would be tragic to allow this fear to compromise our efforts to find common ground and to hinder our ability to promote further effective action to eliminate hatred and intolerance of this very kind. For that reason I want to urge all governments to participate fully in this review process to help ensure that the review conference puts this fear to rest and does justice to the victims of discrimination in all of its forms.”


Link: Full statement to Preparatory Committee
Link: Durban Review Conference