RES/24/26 From rhetoric to reality: a global call for concrete action against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance

GE.13-18055

Human Rights Council Twenty-fourth session

Agenda item 9 Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related

forms of intolerance, follow-up to and implementation of

the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council

24/26.

From rhetoric to reality: a global call for concrete action against

racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance

The Human Rights Council,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 56/266 of 27 March 2002, in which the Assembly endorsed the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action,

Recalling also General Assembly resolution 57/195 of 18 December 2002, in which the Assembly assigned responsibilities to the relevant United Nations institutions to ensure the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action at the international level,

Recalling further all previous resolutions by the Commission on Human Rights and the Human Rights Council on the comprehensive follow-up to the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance and the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, the most recent of which is Council resolution 22/30 of 22 March 2013, in which the Council underlined that the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at the World Conference remains a solid basis and the only instructive outcome of the World Conference for the combating of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance at all levels,

Recalling the political declaration of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted on 22 September 2011,1 which reaffirmed the political commitment to the full and effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and

 The resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council will be contained in the report of

the Council on its twenty-fourth session (A/HRC/24/2), Part One. 1 General Assembly resolution 66/3.

Programme of Action and the outcome document of the 2009 Durban Review Conference, and their follow-up processes at the national, regional and international levels,

Bearing in mind General Assembly resolution 66/144 of 19 December 2011, by which the Assembly encouraged the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent to develop a programme of action, including a theme, for adoption by the Human Rights Council, with a view to proclaiming in 2013 the Decade for People of African Descent and, within this context, recalling Assembly resolution 67/155 of 20 December 2012,

Emphasizing the opportunity for achieving important synergy in the combat of all scourges of racism through the proclamation of the International Decade for People of African Descent and in accelerating the universal implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action,

Stressing the importance of a consistent global effort to inform the public about the contribution of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action to the struggle against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance,

Stressing also the important role of the independent eminent experts in following up on the implementation of the provisions of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action;

Recognizing that poverty, underdevelopment, marginalization, social exclusion and economic disparities are closely associated with racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and contribute to the persistence of racist attitudes and practices, which in turn generate more poverty,

Expressing concern that the current economic and financial crisis and its consequences on poverty and unemployment may have further contributed to the rise of extremist political parties, movements and groups and exacerbated identity-related issues, and that, in this period of economic crisis, non-citizens, persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, migrants, refugees and asylum seekers are still the main scapegoat of extremist political parties that have a xenophobic and racist agenda and that sometimes incite racial hatred and violence,

Deploring the misuse of print, audiovisual and electronic media, including the Internet, and any other means that constitute incitement to acts of national, racial or religious violence, discrimination and hatred, which have targeted and severely affected racial and religious communities and persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, emanating from a variety of sources,

Recognizing that the Internet and social media can also be a useful tool for preventing the spread of racist ideologies by extremist political parties, groups and movements, as well as their potential to contribute to development as an international and equal forum, and aware that there are disparities in the use of and access thereto,

1. Welcomes the work of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, and takes note of its report and the recommendations contained therein;A/HRC/23/19.

2. Decides that the Intergovernmental Working Group should convene its twelfth session from 6 to 17 October 2014;

3. Welcomes and acknowledges the importance and significance of the work of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent in examining the current situation of people of African descent, in particular its focus on the themes of “Recognition through education, cultural rights and data collection” at its twelfth session, and, within this context, takes note of its report and the recommendations contained therein;A/HRC/24/52.

4. Welcomes the unified publication of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, the outcome document of the Durban Review Conference and the political declaration contained in General Assembly resolution 66/3 of 22 September 2011, adopted at the high-level meeting of the Assembly to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, and requests that it be printed and disseminated widely to the public, including to non-governmental organizations, by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Department of Public Information;

5. Also welcomes the launch by the Office of the High Commissioner of a database containing information on practical means to address racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in accordance with paragraph 191 (d) of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, and calls upon States to contribute relevant information to the database;

6. Underlines the need for the General Assembly to proclaim the International Decade for People of African Descent and, within that context, to adopt the draft programme of action for the International Decade for People of African Descent elaborated by the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, as mandated by the Assembly in its resolution 66/144;

7. Emphasizes the imperative need to mobilize the necessary political will to address comprehensively, by all available measures, the various forms and manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and to provide adequate remedies;

8. Recalls the appointment of the five independent eminent experts on 16 June 2003 by the Secretary-General pursuant to General Assembly resolution 56/266, with the mandate to follow up on the implementation of the provisions of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and to make appropriate recommendations thereon;

9. Requests the Secretary-General to resuscitate the work of the independent eminent experts before the end of the sixty-eighth session of the General Assembly, consistent with their mandate, and, in this regard, to recommend further initiatives and actions;

10. Requests, in the above context, the independent eminent experts to convene a special meeting before 31 December 2013 to conduct an appraisal of the work undertaken hitherto and the recommendations made in that regard in order to present an update report to this end to the High Commissioner, the Secretary-General and the Human Rights Council at its twenty-fifth session;

11. Underlines the imperative need for the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards to elaborate complementary standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, in accordance with paragraph 199 of the Durban Programme of Action;

12. Invites Member States, the United Nations system and all relevant stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations, to intensify their efforts in building support for the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action;

13. Underlines the importance of international and regional cooperation, and encourages Member States to enhance and deepen their cooperation in the full and effective implementation of Durban Declaration and Programme of Action;

14. Reiterates the important role of national human rights institutions and specialized bodies in the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, and invites the Office of the High Commissioner to cooperate with national human rights institutions and to use their regional networks to sensitize and raise awareness about the significance and importance of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and its full and effective implementation;

15. Invites the Office of the High Commissioner to continue to cooperate with the Inter-Parliamentary Union with a view to mobilizing parliaments and parliamentarians in their role in the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;

16. Requests the Secretary-General and the Office of the High Commissioner to provide the necessary financial support from the United Nations regular budget, as well as extrabudgetary resources, for the effective performance of the Durban follow-up mechanisms and the successful execution of their mandates;

17. Decides to remain seized of this important issue.

37th meeting

27 September 2013

[Adopted by a recorded vote of 32 to 2, with 13 abstentions. The voting was as follows:

In favour: Angola, Argentina, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guatemala, India,

Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Sierra Leone, Thailand, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

Against: Czech Republic, United States of America

Abstaining: Austria, Estonia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Montenegro, Poland, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Spain, Switzerland]