RES/9/14 Mandate of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent

Human Rights Council

Resolution 9/14. Mandate of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent

The Human Rights Council,

Recalling resolutions 2002/68 of 25 April 2002 and 2003/30 of 23 April 2003 of the

Commission on Human Rights,

Bearing in mind paragraph 6 of General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006,

Reaffirming the relevant international human rights instruments, in particular the

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, proclaimed

by the General Assembly in its resolution 2106 (XX) of 20 December 1965, and stressing the

importance of their full implementation,

Recalling Council resolutions 5/1 on the institution-building of the Human Rights Council

and 5/2 on the code of conduct for special procedures mandate-holders of the Council of

18 June 2007, and stressing that the mandate-holder shall discharge his/her duties in accordance

with those resolutions and the annexes thereto,

Underlining the importance of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action adopted

by the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related

Intolerance, which constitutes a solid foundation for the elimination of all scourges and

manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance,

Recognizing that the successful implementation of the Programme of Action requires

political will and adequate funding at the national, regional and international levels and

international cooperation,

page 2 Acknowledging the significant role played by the Durban Declaration and Programme of

Action follow-up mechanisms and stressing the importance of creating the necessary synergies

between them and of avoiding duplication and overlapping,

1. 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 and

conditions and the extent of racism against Africans and people of African descent;

2. Urges consideration of the recommendations of the Durban Declaration and

Programme of Action follow-up mechanisms contained in General Assembly and Council

resolutions,

3. Recommends that States take measures to ensure adequate representation of people of

African descent in the judiciary and other areas of the justice system, without prejudice to the

principle of meritocracy, and calls upon States to identify factors that have resulted in the

disproportionate number of arrests, sentencing and incarceration of Africans and people of

African descent, particularly young men, and to take immediate and appropriate measures to

eliminate those factors and to adopt crime-prevention strategies and programmes that include

alternatives to incarceration;

4. Emphasizes the need to establish methods by which disaggregated information may

be collected effectively on health, education, access to housing, employment, treatment in the

criminal justice system, political participation and representation, with regard to, inter alia,

Africans and people of African descent, and that such information provide the basis for the

creation and monitoring of policies and practices that address any discrimination found;

5. Also emphasizes the importance of collecting disaggregated information and urges

the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide support to the

States that request it for the collection of such information;

6. Underscores the importance that States and international and regional organizations

ensure that existing mechanisms for complaints for discrimination are accessible to Africans and

people of African descent;

page 3 7. Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to compile a series of best practices in

areas such as access to housing, education, health, employment and institutional and legal

frameworks pertaining to Africans and people of African descent;

8. Decides to extend the mandate of the Working Group on People of African Descent

for three years with the following mandate, to meet for two sessions of five working days each in

closed and public meetings:

(a) To study the problems of racial discrimination faced by people of African descent

living in the diaspora and, to that end, gather all relevant information from Governments, non-

governmental organizations and other relevant sources, including through the holding of public

meetings with them;

(b) To propose measures to ensure full and effective access to the justice system by

people of African descent;

(c) To submit recommendations on the design, implementation and enforcement of

effective measures to eliminate racial profiling of people of African descent;

(d) To make proposals on the elimination of racial discrimination against Africans and

people of African descent in all parts of the world;

(e) To address all the issues concerning the well-being of Africans and people of African

descent contained in the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action;

(f) To elaborate short-, medium- and long-term proposals for the elimination of racial

discrimination against people of African descent, bearing in mind the need for close

collaboration with international and development institutions and the specialized agencies of the

United Nations system to promote the human rights of people of African descent through,

inter alia, the following activities:

(i) Improving the human rights situation of people of African descent by devoting

special attention to their needs through, inter alia, the preparation of specific

programmes of action;

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(ii) Designing special projects, in collaboration with people of African descent, to

support their initiatives at the community level and to facilitate the exchange of

information and technical know-how between these populations and experts in

these areas;

(iii) Liaising with financial and developmental institutional and operational

programmes and specialized agencies of the United Nations, with a view to

contribute to the development programmes intended for people of African

descent by allocating additional investments to health systems, education,

housing, electricity, drinking water and environmental control measures and

promoting equal opportunities in employment, as well as other affirmative or

positive measures and strategies within the human rights framework;

9. Requests the Working Group to submit reports on progress in the elaboration of its

mandate to the Council;

10. Urges the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to take measures

within the framework of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination,

Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, including by highlighting the plight of victims and

initiating consultations with various international sporting and other organizations, enabling

them to contribute to the struggle against racism and racial discrimination;

11. Requests States, non-governmental organizations, relevant human rights treaty

bodies, special procedures and other mechanisms of the commissions, national institutions,

international, financial and development institutions, and specialized agencies, programmes and

funds of the United Nations to collaborate with the Working Group by providing it with the

necessary information and, where possible, reports in order to enable the Working Group to

carry out its mandate;

12. Stresses the need to ensure adequate financial and human resources, including

through the regular budget of the United Nations, for the Office of the High Commissioner to

carry out its responsibilities efficiently in the implementation of the Durban Declaration and

Programme of Action;

page 5 13. Recalls the establishment of a voluntary fund to provide additional resources for,

inter alia, the participation of people of African descent, representatives of developing countries,

especially the least developed countries, non-governmental organizations and experts, in the

open-ended sessions of the Working Group, and invites States to contribute to that fund.

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