DEC/3/103 Global efforts for the total elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the comprehensive follow-up to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance and the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action

Human Rights Council

Decision 3/103. Global efforts for the total elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the comprehensive follow-up to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance and the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action

At its 14th meeting, on 8 December 2006, the Human Rights Council, recalling its resolution 1/5 of 30 June 2006, all resolutions of the General Assembly and of the Commission on Human Rights, in particular Assembly resolutions 57/195 of 18 December 2002 and 60/144 of 16 December 2005 and the resolution of the Third Committee of the General Assembly (A/C.3/61/L.53/Rev.1) adopted on 22 November 2006 as well as Commission resolution 2002/68 of 25 April 2002, on the subject, decided by a recorded vote of 33 to 12 with 1 abstention:

(a) To heed the decision and instruction of the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance by establishing an Ad Hoc Committee of the Human Rights Council on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards, with the mandate to elaborate, as a matter of priority and necessity, complementary standards in the form of either a convention or additional protocol(s) to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, filling the existing gaps in the Convention and also providing new normative standards aimed at combating all forms of contemporary racism, including incitement to racial and religious hatred;

(b) To recommend that the Ad Hoc Committee shall convene annual sessions of 10 working days to draw up the requisite legal instruments and hold its first session before the end of 2007 subject to the Working Group having completed its task on complementary standards by that date, and to report regularly to the Council on progress in the actual process of the elaboration of complementary standards;

(c) To welcome the recent appointment of the Five Experts on Complementary Standards by the High Commissioner for Human Rights with the mandate to produce a base document outlining the substantive gaps in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and make concrete recommendations on the means and avenues to bridge these gaps;

(d) To request the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action to invite the Five Experts to the first part of its fifth session, with the view of having a preliminary exchange of views and vision on complementary standards as a provisional measure pending the completion of their report;

(e) To request the Five Experts to finalize their report before the end of June 2007 for submission to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and also to request the latter to ensure immediate circulation of the report of the experts, in all official languages, to all Governments and all other relevant partners and stakeholders in order to allow all these institutions adequate opportunity and time to study the recommendations contained therein;

(f) To recommend that the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action convene the second part of its fifth session in September 2007 and that this session mark the conclusion and closure of the Working Group’s debates and deliberations on the question of complementary standards;

(g) To invite, in the above context, the Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action to transmit the report of the Five Experts to the Ad Hoc Committee through the Human Rights Council;

(h) To request that the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action continue its important work of ensuring the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action as mandated by Commission on Human Rights resolution 2002/68 of 25 April 2002 by focusing on other critical segments of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action that require immediate attention;

(i) To request that the Ad Hoc Committee convene its first session before the end of 2007 and use all the documents presented to it as background material for commencing its process of elaborating complementary standards, and that one of its main priorities be to ensure that the requisite legal instrument(s) is/are produced for negotiations;

(j) To request that the High Commissioner give visibility and a high profile to the Anti-Discrimination Unit within her Office and provide it with all the necessary and additional resources to ensure its effectiveness, particularly in view of the current challenges of racial and religious discrimination, so that the Unit ensures that the High Commissioner makes a positive contribution and plays a leadership role in the global efforts to combat all the resurgent scourges of racism;

(k) To retain this priority issue on its programme of work and to review progress at its fourth session.

[In favour: Algeria, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa,
Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Uruguay, Zambia.

Against: Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Republic of Korea, Romania, Switzerland, United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Abstaining: Ukraine.]

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