Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination and the Convening of the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 112 Elimination of racism and racial discrimination, published in 2001.

What other versions does this mandate have?

3 versions · 1999–2001

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2001	A/RES/55/84	Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination and the convening of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance	3,894	58%Compare
2000	A/RES/54/154	Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination and the convening of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance	2,893	48%Compare
1999	A/RES/53/132	Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination and the convening of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance	2,636	–

What’s in this document?

68 operative paragraphs

I.Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination and coordination of activities

Welcomes the report submitted by the Secretary-General;8

Reaffirms that racism and racial discrimination are among the most serious violations of human rights in the contemporary world, and expresses its firm determination and its commitment to eradicate, by all available means, racism in all its forms and racial discrimination;

Recognizes that Governments implement and enforce appropriate and effective legislation to prevent acts of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, thereby contributing to the prevention of human rights violations;

Urges all Governments to take all necessary measures to combat new forms of racism, in particular by constantly adapting the means provided to combat them, especially in the legislative, judicial, administrative, educational and information fields;

Calls upon all States resolutely to bring to justice the perpetrators of crimes motivated by racism, and calls upon those that have not done so to consider including racist motivation as an aggravating factor for the purposes of sentencing;

Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to assign high priority to the follow-up to programmes and activities for combating racism and racial discrimination, consistent with the need to ensure the effective preparation of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance;

Requests the Secretary-General in his reports on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance to accord special attention to and provide information on the situation of migrant workers and members of their families in this regard;

Calls upon all Member States to consider signing and ratifying or acceding to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families9 as a matter of priority;

Commends all States that have ratified or acceded to the international instruments to combat racism and racial discrimination, especially the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination2 and the Convention against Discrimination in Education;3

Urges all States that have not yet done so to become parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in order to achieve its universal ratification;

Urges States to limit the extent of any reservation that they lodge to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to formulate any reservation as precisely and as narrowly as possible, to ensure that no reservations are incompatible with the objective and purpose of the Convention or otherwise incompatible with international treaty law, to review their reservations on a regular basis with a view to withdrawing them and to withdraw reservations that are contrary to the objective and purpose of the Convention or that are otherwise incompatible with international treaty law;

Emphasizes the importance of the full compliance of States parties with the obligations that they have accepted under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination;

Urges all States parties to intensify efforts to meet the obligations that they have accepted under article 4 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, with due regard to the principles contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights1 and to article 5 of the Convention, with respect to:

Declaring an offence punishable by law any dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority or hatred, incitement to racial discrimination and all acts of violence or incitement to such acts against any race or group of persons of another colour or ethnic origin, and the provision of any assistance to racist activities, including the financing thereof;

Declaring illegal and prohibited organizations and organized and all other propaganda activities that promote and incite racial discrimination, and recognizing participation in such organizations or activities as an offence punishable by law;

Not permitting public authorities or public institutions, whether national or local, to promote or incite racial discrimination;

Encourages the mass media to promote ideas of tolerance and understanding among peoples and different cultures;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to draw attention to the effects of racial discrimination on minorities and migrant workers and members of their families, especially children and women, in the fields of education, training and employment and to submit in his report specific recommendations for the implementation of measures to combat such discrimination;

Recognizes the need for adequate support and financial resources for the Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination and the Programme of Action for the Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination, and requests the Secretary-General to include in his report to the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session concrete proposals on how to ensure the financial and personnel resources required for the implementation of the Programme of Action, including through the regular budget of the United Nations and extrabudgetary sources;

Expresses its appreciation to those that have made contributions to the Trust Fund for the Programme of Action for the Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination, strongly appeals to all Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and individuals in a position to do so to contribute generously to the Fund, and to this end requests the Secretary-General to continue to establish the appropriate contacts and undertake the appropriate initiatives;

Welcomes the establishment of the racism project team in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights with a view to coordinating all activities of the Third Decade;

Urges all Governments, the Secretary-General, United Nations bodies, the specialized agencies, intergovernmental organizations and relevant non-governmental organizations, in implementing the Programme of Action, to pay particular attention to the situation of indigenous people;

Requests States to consider the relevant decisions of the Economic and Social Council on the integrated follow-up to previous world conferences and the need to make optimum use of all available mechanisms in the struggle against racism;

Strongly underlines the importance of education as a significant means of preventing and eradicating racism and racial discrimination and of creating awareness of the principles of human rights, in particular among young people, and in this regard requests the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to continue its work on the preparation and dissemination of teaching materials and teaching aids to promote teaching, training and educational activities on human rights and against racism and racial discrimination, with particular emphasis on activities at the primary and secondary levels of education;

Considers that, in order to attain the objectives of the Third Decade, all parts of the Programme of Action should be given equal attention;

Requests the Secretary-General to accord high priority to the activities of the Programme of Action and, in this regard, to ensure that the necessary financial resources are provided for the implementation of the activities of the Third Decade during the biennium 2002–2003;

Also requests the Secretary-General to continue to submit each year to the Economic and Social Council a detailed report on all activities of United Nations bodies and the specialized agencies to combat racism and racial discrimination, containing an analysis of information received on such activities;

Invites the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly proposals which would assist in the full implementation of the Programme of Action;

Reiterates its calls upon all Governments, United Nations bodies, the specialized agencies, intergovernmental and regional organizations and interested non-governmental organizations to contribute fully to the effective implementation of the Programme of Action;

II.World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia

and Related Intolerance

Recalls its resolutions 52/111 of 12 December 1997 and 53/132 of 9 December 1998, in which it established that the Commission on Human Rights would act as the Preparatory Committee for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, and its resolution 54/154, and takes note of Commission on Human Rights resolution 2000/14 of 17 April 2000¹¹ and Economic and Social Council resolution 2000/21 of 28 July 2000;

¹¹See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2000, Supplement No. 3 and corrigendum (E/2000/23 and Corr.1), chap. II, sect. A.

Welcomes the slogan for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance adopted by the Preparatory Committee, namely, “United to combat racism: equality, justice, dignity”;¹²

¹²A/55/307, annex I, decision PC.1/10.

Also welcomes the report of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerence,7 and recommends that the Preparatory Committee for the World Conference give due consideration to the recommendations and suggestions contained therein;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to ensure that adequate financial resources are made available for the preparatory process for the World Conference, including from the regular budget of the United Nations;

Requests the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to make every effort to ensure the mobilization of resources for the voluntary fund for the World Conference to cover the participation of the least developed countries in the preparatory process and in the Conference itself, and requests all Governments, international and non-governmental organizations and private individuals to contribute to the fund;

Calls upon the High Commissioner to help States and regional organizations, upon request, to convene and finalize inclusive national and regional meetings, in close consultation with the regional groups concerned, or to take other initiatives, including activities at the expert level, to prepare for the World Conference, and urges the specialized agencies and the regional commissions, in coordination with the High Commissioner, to contribute to the convening of regional preparatory meetings;

Requests the Secretary-General, the specialized agencies and the regional commissions to provide financial and technical assistance for the organization of the regional preparatory meetings planned in the context of the World Conference, and stresses that such assistance should be supplemented by voluntary contributions;

Stresses the importance of the widest possible participation of non-governmental organizations in the World Conference and the sessions of the Preparatory Committee, as well as in the regional meetings, regional expert seminars and other initiatives, including activities at the expert level, held in preparation for the World Conference;

Decides to convene the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance at Durban, South Africa, from 31 August to 7 September 2001;

Welcomes the holding by the Council of Europe of the regional preparatory meeting at Strasbourg, France, from 11 to 13 October 2000, and the offers made by the Governments of Chile, Senegal and the Islamic Republic of Iran to convene regional preparatory meetings, within the framework of the World Conference, at, respectively, Santiago, from 4 to 7 December 2000, Dakar, from 22 to 24 January 2001, and Tehran, from 19 to 21 February 2001;

Requests the High Commissioner:

To help States, upon request, and regional organizations to convene national and regional meetings or to take other initiatives, including activities at the expert level, to prepare for the World Conference;

To undertake appropriate consultations with non-governmental organizations on the possibility that they might hold a forum before and partly during the World Conference and, as far as possible, to provide them with technical assistance for that purpose;

To continue fund-raising activities in order to increase the resources of the voluntary fund established specifically to cover all aspects of the preparatory process for the World Conference and the participation of non-governmental organizations, in particular those from developing countries, with special emphasis on those from least developed countries;

Also requests the High Commissioner, in her capacity as Secretary-General of the World Conference, to continue and intensify the activities already initiated within the framework of the world information campaign with a view to ensuring mobilization and support for the objectives of the World Conference by all sectors of political, economic, social and cultural life, as well as other interested sectors, to inform the Preparatory Committee of developments in this regard and to assist the Preparatory Committee in:

Reviewing the political, historical, economic, social, cultural and any other factors leading to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance with a view to reaching a better understanding of and appraising these problems;

Reviewing progress made in the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, in particular since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,1 and reappraising the obstacles to further progress in the field and ways in which to overcome them;

Considering ways and means to better the application of existing standards and the implementation of existing instruments to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;

Increasing the level of awareness about the scourges of racism and racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;

Formulating concrete recommendations on ways in which to increase the effectiveness of the activities and mechanisms of the United Nations through programmes aimed at combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;

Formulating concrete recommendations to further action-oriented national, regional and international measures to combat all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;

Requests the regional preparatory processes to identify trends, priorities and obstacles at the national and regional levels, and to formulate specific recommendations for the action to be carried out in the future to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;

Calls upon the regional preparatory meetings to submit to the Preparatory Committee, at its second session, through the High Commissioner, reports on the results of their deliberations, with concrete and pragmatic recommendations aimed at combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, which will be duly reflected in the texts of the draft final documents of the World Conference, to be prepared by the Committee;

Invites Governments to promote the participation of national institutions and local non-governmental organizations in the preparations for the World Conference and in the regional meetings and to organize debates in national parliaments on the objectives of the World Conference;

Encourages all parliaments to participate actively in the preparation of the World Conference, and requests the High Commissioner to explore ways and means of effectively involving parliaments through the relevant international organizations;

Reiterates that the World Conference should be action-oriented and should adopt a declaration and a programme of action containing concrete and practical recommendations to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;

Stresses the importance of systematically taking a gender perspective into account throughout the preparations for and in the outcome of the World Conference;

Recommends that the particular situation of children and young people should receive special attention during the preparations for and during the World Conference, especially in its outcome;

Encourages Governments, to that end and to ensure further the engagement of young people on the broader issues of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, to include youth delegates in their official delegations to the World Conference and its preparatory processes;

Recommends that special attention be accorded, during the preparations for and during the World Conference, especially in its outcome, to the particular situation of migrants;

Also recommends that the particular situation of indigenous people receive special attention during the preparations for and during the World Conference, especially in its outcome, and encourages Member States to facilitate the participation of their indigenous people, inter alia, by considering including representatives of indigenous people in their delegations;

Welcomes the report of the Commission on Human Rights acting as the Preparatory Committee for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance on its first session,¹³ and requests the Preparatory Committee to develop in a comprehensive manner the provisional agenda, the draft declaration and the draft programme of action of the World Conference, taking into account the themes as adopted and all outstanding issues from its first session as covered in the report, as well as the contributions of all of the regional preparatory processes and other relevant initiatives;

¹³A/55/307.

Decides to establish an inter-sessional working group which will meet for five working days to develop further the draft agenda, the draft declaration and the draft programme of action of the World Conference;

Also decides to authorize the Preparatory Committee to extend its second session for up to five working days;

Appeals to Member States to contribute generously to the voluntary fund for the World Conference to cover the preparatory process and the Conference and the participation of non-governmental organizations from developing countries;

Requests Governments, the specialized agencies, other international organizations, concerned United Nations bodies, regional organizations, non-governmental organizations, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the human rights of migrants and other human rights mechanisms to participate actively in the preparatory process with a view to ensuring the success of the World Conference and to coordinate their activities in this regard with the assistance of the High Commissioner;

Calls upon States and regional organizations to continue the process of convening inclusive national and regional meetings or taking other initiatives, such as public information campaigns, to raise awareness of the World Conference as part of the preparations for the Conference;

III.Proclamation of 2001 as the International Year of Mobilization against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance

Strongly reaffirms the proclamation of 2001 as the International Year of Mobilization against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, and in this context calls upon Governments, all relevant entities of the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations to observe the International Year in a suitable manner, including by means of programmes of action;

Emphasizes that the activities to be implemented within the framework of the International Year should be directed towards the preparation of the World Conference and the realization of its objectives;

IV.General

Decides to keep the item entitled “Elimination of racism and racial discrimination” on its agenda and to consider it as a matter of high priority at its fifty-sixth session.