Debate on the midterm review of the International Decade for People of African Descent

Commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Nada Al-Nashif, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights

46th session of the Human Rights Council

Friday, 12 March 2021

Distinguished President,
Excellencies,

In the long history of humanity's struggle to end racism and racial discrimination, we are at a critical moment. Events over the past year have heightened the urgency of action to end this scourge, which in words of the Secretary-General violates the UN Charter and “debases us all as human beings”.

We witness deep rage at the violence, injustice, abuse and unfairness faced by millions as protests  rock cities around the world.

Two decades after the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, systemic racial discrimination continues to strangle the rights of people of African descent to equal services, quality education, decent work and meaningful participation.  

Those entrenched harms inflicted by racism over generations have been magnified and brought into focus by COVID-19. The, evidence points to very stark racial disparities: in the Unites States, infection, hospitalisation and death rates amongst people of African descent are respectively triple, five times and double the rates seen amongst white Americans. American life expectancy dropped a full year due to the pandemic – but the life expectancy of Black Americans declined by 2.7 years. In the United Kingdom, women and men of African descent were more than four times more likely to die of COVID-19 than white people. The pandemic's impact on the livelihoods and income of people from minority communities has been massively disproportionate, in every region.

We also continue to see rising racist threats, discrimination and attacks, as new movements for white supremacy – amplified by pandemic conspiracy theories – compound the impact of older forms of bigotry.

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination pointed out in August that the pandemic has led to "a significant increase in stigmatization, labelling and scapegoating – which often results in discriminatory acts, and even violence... in particular against people of Asian and African descent; migrants; members of the Roma community; and those who are regarded as belonging to lower castes."

It is clear that people pushed behind, and rendered powerless by generations of discrimination are placed at a structural disadvantage when it comes to any threat.

And having directly witnessed this massive and deliberating impact of racial discrimination, we, as leaders, must act.

Excellencies,

Every crisis is also an opportunity – especially for outstanding leaders who can inspire the transformation of our dysfunctional systems and norms.

We need to grasp the roots of systemic racial discrimination, and begin the work of deep reform that can undo generations of injustice and neglect.

We need to rebuild our nations - instead of leaving people behind, and holding them back, we must value and promote the contributions of everyone, for the benefit of all.

We need to deliver, at last, on our commitment to equality and racial justice.

And we have powerful allies.

Today's young leaders are eager to help determine new paths for their societies – towards a future that is more respectful and more fair.

To date, the impact of COVID-19 on young people has been profound. A global survey conducted in 112 countries by the International Labour Organization with our Office and others indicates that one in eight students were left without any access to education or training with those in lower-income countries worst affected. One in every six young people said they had lost their jobs. One in three noted restrictions of their right to participate in public affairs.

However, we're also seeing strong networks taking shape to radically rebuild communities and institutions.

New platforms are bringing together civil rights organizations forged through generations of struggle with young activists and businesses committed to advancing equality and rights as they reach across national borders to form chains of solidarity and mutual support.

We're seeing fresh, broad and innovative action to overturn institutional barriers and break down the defensive structures which keep racist systems in place.

Our survey indicates that more than one in four young people actively engages in volunteer work and activism.  From Fridays for Future to Black Lives Matter, they mobilize as powerful forces for change, claiming the right of every human being to live free and equal in dignity and rights.

Excellencies,

In 2001, the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action emphasised the role of youth in combatting racial discrimination. We need to step up the intensity of that engagement now.

Harnessing the Decade for People of African Descent with Member States and UN system engaging with young women and men, is key.

Thanks to a decade of work with our Annual Fellowship Programme for people of African descent, we have more than 80 young activists from 32 countries, inspiring us in many ways.  The UN Youth Strategy, with and for youth, also conjoins human rights and youth participation. UNESCO’s Master Class Series against Racism and Discriminations has trained 2300 participants since November 2019, and its Youth As Researchers global initiative on COVID-19 connects and engages with young people to look more deeply at young people's responses to the impact of the pandemic.

I also want to highlight the work being done by the United Nations Population Fund in  Latin America and the Caribbean, and Afro-descendant youth leaders in training young Afro-descendant people in developing effective strategies for participation and political advocacy to advance the implementation of important population and development commitments.

We made progress during the first half of the Decade for People of African descent, but we need far more.

For too long, actions by official institutions have suggested that many people's lives and rights did not matter.

The time for visionary, far-reaching change is now.

I look forward to your discussions