Elimination of racism and racial discrimination – Implemention of Durban Declaration and Programme of Action – SecGen report (excerpts)

 Global efforts for the total elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action

    Report of the Secretary-General

*  A/60/150. 

 I.   Introduction

1.   In its resolution 59/177, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to submit a report on the implementation of the resolution to the Assembly at its sixtieth session. The present report focuses on activities relating to the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance since the presentation of the previous report to the General Assembly (A/59/375). In this regard, reference is also made to reports previously submitted on the comprehensive implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-eighth, fifty-ninth and sixtieth sessions (E/CN.4/2002/21, E/CN.4/2003/18 and Add.1 and 2 and E/CN.4/2004/17) and to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh and fifty-eighth sessions (A/57/443 and A/58/324).

2.   Between 29 April and 2 May 2005, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) sent requests to States, United Nations bodies and specialized agencies, international and regional organizations, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for information on follow-up and implementation activities undertaken in the context of the World Conference. In order to facilitate the identification of the relevant global trends, a guidance note on responses was attached to the correspondence. The deadline for the submission of contributions was 30 June 2005. The responses received are summarized in the present report, which also includes responses to a note verbale sent to Governments in November 2004. Original contributions are available for consultation in the Secretariat. Any additional contributions received will be included in the report to the General Assembly at its sixty-first session.

 II.  Contributions received

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D.  United Nations system

24.   The United Nations Department of Public Information undertakes activities to promote the work of OHCHR, CERD and the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. Information is disseminated through a multimedia approach. In 2004, the Department organized two seminars on “Unlearning Intolerance”, one on anti-Semitism and another on Islamophobia. The elimination of discrimination also figures among the topics of the Department’s Training Programme for Broadcasters and Journalists from Developing Countries and the Training Programme for Palestinian Media Practitioners. The United Nations Information Centre in Warsaw launched a special website on discrimination and related intolerance, while the United Nations Information Centre in Dhaka organized a theatrical play on tolerance.

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 F.   Civil society: non-governmental organizations, youth groups and other organizations

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54.   The BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights manages a website that provides information on the situation of Palestinian refugees as well as statistics and legal analysis concerning refugee protection and long-term solutions, which help to counter discriminatory, racist and xenophobic messages. BADIL submitted reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on the ongoing violations of the fundamental rights and freedoms of refugee women in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, to the United Nations Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs in the Occupied Territories, and on the partnership with the Israeli NGO Zochrot working on awareness-raising programmes such as the Nakba Memorial, commemorating the massive Palestinian eviction and dispossession in 1948. BADIL has also joined the Occupied Palestinian and Syrian Golan Heights Advocacy Initiative.

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 III.  Conclusions 

76.   The present report demonstrates that the momentum of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance continues. Numerous responses were received from Governments, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations: all are acting against racism, racial discrimination and related intolerance, using the platform of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. The responses also indicate growing cooperation and mutual assistance between different stakeholders. New forms of racism are receiving increasing attention. Governments are reacting more often against cybercrime and/or the dissemination of racist ideologies via the Internet. At the same time, Governments, intergovernmental organizations, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations are using the Internet to inform the public about their work and to spread positive messages of equality and non-discrimination. Slowly, a trend is developing towards reporting and monitoring — often using statistics — of racist crimes and incidents. Finally, the contributions show that 21 March, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, remains a rallying point all around the world.

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