Campaigning to end racism

Presentation of the OHCHR report on the progress on the two-year comprehensive communications strategy on racial equality (A/HRC/53/61)

Distinguished Vice-President,
Excellencies,
Friends,

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. This is the promise set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 75 years ago. However, too many people still face racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance, compounded, and aggravated by intersectional factors of discrimination on many different grounds.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which entered into force in 1969, was the first human rights treaty that States could ratify, but it has never reached universal ratification. Reporting to its Committee is the lowest among all treaty bodies. Most United Nations mechanisms work on issues of racism and racial discrimination, with eight active human rights mechanisms dedicated exclusively to this specific issue. However, their recommendations, based on legal obligations of States or accepted by them, are yet to be implemented.

In implementing Human Rights Council resolution 48/18, our Office has amplified its call for meaningful action against racism through a two-year outreach campaign entitled Learn, Speak Up, Act! which is linked to our wider #FightRacism campaign.

Lack of knowledge about key instruments and initiatives for racial justice and equality is in itself an obstacle to the mobilisation and the public advocacy for their full and effective implementation. The campaign is therefore aimed at increasing public knowledge, encouraging action, in line with the High Commissioner’s Agenda towards Transformative Change - an agenda containing actionable recommendations to end systemic racism and human rights violations by law enforcement against Africans and against people of African descent - thereby contributing to turning rhetorical promises into positive lived realities for victims of racism and racial discrimination.

The campaign highlights United Nations instruments available to fight racism and racial discrimination, namely the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the programme of activities of the International Decade for People of African Descent.

The campaign is articulated around three key messages: “Education is a tool to fight racism”, “Actions speak as loud as words”, and “We are all agents of change”. These messages embody central objectives towards achieving racial equality, namely, the right to learn about the history and legacies of racism, xenophobia, racial discrimination and related intolerance, understanding the tools we have to fight them today; the need to speak out against racism; and the call for everyone to get involved and act.

During the reporting period from January 2022 to March 2023 our Office developed key campaign products, including a dedicated web page, videos, stories, and social media content, translated into all the United Nations official languages, including some in Portuguese. They have been promoted across a range of platforms, such as podcasts, radio segments, social media platforms, movie screenings, printed materials, e-tools, and a theatre initiative. More campaign products will continue to be launched after the reporting period.

The campaign products mainly target young audiences and constitute entry points intended to spark greater interest in the fight against racism, including through youth-friendly explanations and personal accounts of the impact of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, and the programme of activities of the Decade. With its dedicated resources, the campaign amped up outreach through interactive digital technologies, cutting-edge cinematography, and through cooperation with celebrities and influencers who amplified the messages.

Fighting racism must be a shared effort, and these partnerships are crucial – these include the United Nations Information Centres, the Department of Global Communication, the Office’s field presences, United Nations Country Teams, universities, non-governmental organizations, journalists, filmmakers, parliamentarians, and, of course, academia.

Overall, there have been several million interactions with the content of the campaign and our Office intends to build further on these numbers.

Mr. Vice-President,

Despite these successes, the Learn, Speak Up, Act! campaign is just not enough. We need greater promotion and outreach efforts to foster the vigorous and decisive change that can put an end to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance.

We need specialized staff dedicated to managing outreach and campaign efforts in the field of racism, as well as dedicated financial resources to ensure the impact that we are targeting.

It is time to pick up the pace, not slow down.

With sufficient resources, we will be able to extend and bolster this campaign, both on and offline, including by widening strategic partnerships and intensifying collaboration with all relevant stakeholders, including the Member States.

Mr. Vice-President,

The pushbacks that we are witnessing make clear that we cannot take these contributions for granted, nor presume they are sustainable – we must continue to leverage, amplify, and expand beyond our efforts to Learn, Speak Up and Act!

And for this, we need your support to extend this campaign, in order to meet your commitments, fulfil the aspirations of millions across the globe, and realise the transformative change that we need.