UN to Mark Durban Declaration Anniversary with Meeting on Racism

The United Nations General Assembly is set to hold a high-level meeting at UN Headquarters in New York to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, with a political declaration expected to be adopted.

The gathering will focus on a framework that addresses racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, inequality and related intolerance. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights says the meeting is intended to raise awareness of the framework, improve public understanding and encourage dialogue between governments and communities.

The office also says the event will examine progress since the declaration was adopted and consider persistent and emerging challenges. Another stated objective is to “identify strategies for mobilising renewed political will” to combat discrimination.

A framework adopted in Durban

The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action was adopted at the 2001 World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa. It is not legally binding on UN member states, but the vast majority of member states adopted it by consensus.

The 153-page document addresses racism, xenophobia and the oppression of Indigenous people. It also calls for action against gender-based discrimination and other forms of oppression, and says migration policies should not be based on racism and intolerance.

The conference recognised slavery and the slave trade as crimes against humanity and linked those historical injustices to modern poverty and disparities. The declaration also described apartheid and genocide as “sources and manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance”, while calling for condemnation of such crimes and measures to prevent their recurrence.

It further recognised the rights of Indigenous peoples. Clause 63 acknowledges the Palestinian people’s “inalienable right” to self-determination and to establish an independent state, alongside the right to security for all states in the region, including Israel.

Political declaration expected

The draft political declaration prepared for the anniversary meeting reaffirms messages from the 2001 Durban Declaration, the outcome of the 2009 Durban Review Conference in Geneva and political declarations issued on the 10th and 20th anniversaries.

The draft acknowledges “with deep concern” the rise in discrimination, systemic racism and hate speech. It also states that “equality and non-discrimination are fundamental principles of international law”.

Participants are expected to include UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk. South Africa’s head of state or a representative, an NGO representative and a youth representative are also expected to address the meeting.

UN member states, observer states and other General Assembly observers will take part. The programme is also expected to include young people from marginalised racial and ethnic groups, Indigenous peoples and representatives connected to the Palestinian people.

Long-running divisions

The Durban process has remained politically sensitive. An early draft equated Zionism with racism, but that language was removed after opposition from Israel and its Western allies. The United States and Israel later withdrew from the 2001 conference and did not support the declaration because of provisions concerning Israel and Palestine.

The source also reports that rights groups and scholars have characterised Israeli policies toward Palestinians as amounting to apartheid, while experts and a UN commission of inquiry have called Israel’s war on Gaza genocide. Those characterisations are attributed to the groups and bodies cited.

The anniversary meeting will be livestreamed through UN Web TV in several languages. The UN has not confirmed the final text or outcome of the political declaration in the available information.