Programme of Action
Recognizing the urgent need to
translate the objectives of the Declaration into a practical and
workable Programme of Action, the World Conference against Racism,
Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance:
I. Sources,
causes, forms and contemporary manifestations of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
1. Urges States in their
national efforts, and in cooperation with other States, regional and
international organizations and financial institutions, to promote
the use of public and private investment in consultation with the
affected communities in order to eradicate poverty, particularly in
those areas in which victims of racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance predominantly live;
2. Urges States to take all
necessary and appropriate measures to end enslavement and
contemporary forms of slavery-like practices, to initiate
constructive dialogue among States and implement measures with a view
to correcting the problems and the damage resulting therefrom;
II.
Victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance
Victims:
General
3. Urges States to work
nationally and in cooperation with other States and relevant regional
and international organizations and programmes to strengthen national
mechanisms to promote and protect the human rights of victims of
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance who
are infected, or presumably infected, with pandemic diseases such as
HIV/AIDS and to take concrete measures, including preventive action,
appropriate access to medication and treatment, programmes of
education, training and mass media dissemination, to eliminate
violence, stigmatization, discrimination, unemployment and other
negative consequences arising from these pandemics;
Africans
and people of African descent
4. Urges States to facilitate
the participation of people of African descent in all political,
economic, social and cultural aspects of society and in the
advancement and economic development of their countries, and to
promote a greater knowledge of and respect for their heritage and
culture;
5. Requests States, supported by
international cooperation as appropriate, to consider positively
concentrating additional investments in health care systems,
education, public health, electricity, drinking water and
environmental control, as well as other affirmative or positive
action initiatives, in communities of primarily African descent;
6. Calls upon the United
Nations, international financial and development institutions and
other appropriate international mechanisms to develop
capacity-building programmes intended for Africans and people of
African descent in the Americas and around the world;
7. Requests the Commission on
Human Rights to consider establishing a working group or other
mechanism of the United Nations to study the problems of racial
discrimination faced by people of African descent living in the
African Diaspora and make proposals for the elimination of racial
discrimination against people of African descent;
8. Urges financial and
development institutions and the operational programmes and
specialized agencies of the United Nations, in accordance with their
regular budgets and the procedures of their governing bodies:
(a)To assign particular priority, and
allocate sufficient funding, within their areas of competence and
budgets, to improving the situation of Africans and people of African
descent, while devoting special attention to the needs of these
populations in developing countries, inter alia through
the preparation of specific programmes of action;
(b)To carry out special projects,
through appropriate channels and in collaboration with Africans and
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;
(c)To develop programmes intended for
people of African descent 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 action
initiatives;
9. Requests States to increase
public actions and policies in favour of women and young males of
African descent, given that racism affects them more deeply, placing
them in a more marginalized and disadvantaged situation;
10. Urges States to ensure
access to education and promote access to new technologies that would
offer Africans and people of African descent, in particular women and
children, adequate resources for education, technological development
and long distance learning in local communities, and further
urges States to promote the full and accurate inclusion of the
history and contribution of Africans and people of African descent in
the education curriculum;
11. Encourages States to
identify factors which prevent equal access to, and the equitable
presence of, people of African descent at all levels of the public
sector, including the public service, and in particular the
administration of justice, and to take appropriate measures to remove
the obstacles identified and also to encourage the private sector to
promote equal access to, and the equitable presence of, people of
African descent at all levels within their organizations;
12. Calls upon States to take
specific steps to ensure full and effective access to the justice
system for all individuals, particularly those of
African descent;
13. Urges States, in accordance
with international human rights standards and their respective
domestic legal framework, to resolve problems of ownership of
ancestral lands inhabited for generations by people of African
descent and to promote the productive utilization of land and the
comprehensive development of these communities, respecting their
culture and their specific forms of decision making;
14. Urges States to recognize
the particularly severe problems of religious prejudice and
intolerance that many people of African descent experience and to
implement policies and measures that are designed to prevent and
eliminate all such discrimination on the basis of religion and
belief, which, when combined with certain other forms of
discrimination, constitutes a form of multiple discrimination;
Indigenous
peoples
15. Urges States:
(a)To adopt or continue to apply, in
concert with them, constitutional, administrative, legislative,
judicial and all necessary measures to promote, protect and ensure
the enjoyment by indigenous peoples of their rights, as well as to
guarantee them the exercise of their human rights and fundamental
freedoms on the basis of equality, non-discrimination and full and
free participation in all areas of society, in particular in matters
affecting or concerning their interests;
(b)To promote better knowledge of and
respect for indigenous cultures and heritage;
and welcomes measures already taken by
States in these respects;
16. Urges States to work with
indigenous peoples to stimulate their access to economic activities
and increase their level of employment, where appropriate, through
the establishment, acquisition or expansion by indigenous peoples of
enterprises, and the implementation of measures such as training, the
provision of technical assistance and credit facilities;
17. Urges States to work with
indigenous peoples to establish and implement programmes that provide
access to training and services that could benefit the development of
their communities;
18. Requests States to adopt
public policies and give impetus to programmes on behalf of and in
concert with indigenous women and girls, with a view to promoting
their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights; to
putting an end to their situation of disadvantage for reasons of
gender and ethnicity; to dealing with urgent problems affecting them
in regard to education, their physical and mental health, economic
life and in the matter of violence against them, including domestic
violence; and to eliminating the situation of aggravated
discrimination suffered by indigenous women and girls on multiple
grounds of racism and gender discrimination;
19. Recommends that States
examine, in conformity with relevant international human rights
instruments, norms and standards, their Constitutions, laws, legal
systems and policies in order to identify and eradicate racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance towards
indigenous peoples and individuals, whether implicit, explicit or
inherent;
20. Calls upon concerned States
to honour and respect their treaties and agreements with indigenous
peoples and to accord them due recognition and observance;
21. Calls upon States to give
full and appropriate consideration to the recommendations produced by
indigenous peoples in their own forums on the World Conference;
22. Requests States:
(a)To develop and, where they already
exist, support institutional mechanisms to promote the accomplishment
of the objectives and measures relating to indigenous peoples agreed
in this Programme of Action;
(b)To promote, in concert with
indigenous organizations, local authorities and non governmental
organizations, actions aimed at overcoming racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance against indigenous
peoples and to make regular assessments of the progress achieved in
this regard;
(c)To promote understanding among
society at large of the importance of special measures to overcome
disadvantages faced by indigenous peoples;
(d)To consult indigenous
representatives in the process of decision-making concerning policies
and measures that directly affect them;
23. Calls upon States to
recognize the particular challenges faced by indigenous peoples and
individuals living in urban environments and urges States to
implement effective strategies to combat the racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance they encounter,
paying particular attention to opportunities for their continued
practice of their traditional, cultural, linguistic and spiritual
ways of life;
Migrants
24. Requests all States to
combat manifestations of a generalized rejection of migrants and
actively to discourage all racist demonstrations and acts that
generate xenophobic behaviour and negative sentiments towards, or
rejection of, migrants;
25. Invites international and
national non-governmental organizations to include monitoring and
protection of the human rights of migrants in their programmes and
activities and to sensitize Governments and increase public awareness
in all States about the need to prevent racist acts and
manifestations of discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
against migrants;
26. Requests States to promote
and protect fully and effectively the human rights and fundamental
freedoms of all migrants, in conformity with the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and their obligations under international
human rights instruments, regardless of the migrants’
immigration status;
27. Encourages States to promote
education on the human rights of migrants and to engage in
information campaigns to ensure that the public receives accurate
information regarding migrants and migration issues, including the
positive contribution of migrants to the host society and the
vulnerability of migrants, particularly those who are in an irregular
situation;
28. Calls upon States to
facilitate family reunification in an expeditious and effective
manner which has a positive effect on integration of migrants, with
due regard for the desire of many family members to have an
independent status;
29. Urges States to take
concrete measures that would eliminate racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance in the workplace against all
workers, including migrants, and ensure the full equality of all
before the law, including labour law, and further urges States to
eliminate barriers, where appropriate, to: participating in
vocational training, collective bargaining, employment, contracts and
trade union activity; accessing judicial and administrative tribunals
dealing with grievances; seeking employment in different parts of
their country of residence; and working in safe and healthy
conditions;
30. Urges States:
(a)To develop and implement policies
and action plans, and to reinforce and implement preventive measures,
in order to foster greater harmony and tolerance between migrants and
host societies, with the aim of eliminating manifestations of racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, including
acts of violence, perpetrated in many societies by individuals or
groups;
(b)To review and revise, where
necessary, their immigration laws, policies and practices so that
they are free of racial discrimination and compatible with States’
obligations under international human rights instruments;
(c)To implement specific measures
involving the host community and migrants in order to encourage
respect for cultural diversity, to promote the fair treatment of
migrants and to develop programmes, where appropriate, that
facilitate their integration into social, cultural, political and
economic life;
(d)To ensure that migrants, regardless
of their immigration status, detained by public authorities are
treated with humanity and in a fair manner, and receive effective
legal protection and, where appropriate, the assistance of a
competent interpreter in accordance with the relevant norms of
international law and human rights standards, particularly during
interrogation;
(e)To ensure that the police and
immigration authorities treat migrants in a dignified and
non-discriminatory manner, in accordance with international
standards, through, inter alia, organizing specialized
training courses for administrators, police officers, immigration
officials and other interested groups;
(f)To consider the question of
promoting the recognition of the educational, professional and
technical credentials of migrants, with a view to maximizing their
contribution to their new States of residence;
(g)To take all possible measures to
promote the full enjoyment by all migrants of all human rights,
including those related to fair wages and equal remuneration for work
of equal value without distinction of any kind, and to the right to
security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability,
widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances
beyond their control, social security, including social insurance,
access to education, health care, social services and respect for
their cultural identity;
(h)To consider adopting and
implementing immigration policies and programmes that would enable
immigrants, in particular women and children who are victims of
spousal or domestic violence, to free themselves from abusive
relationships;
31. Urges States, in the light
of the increased proportion of women migrants, to place special focus
on gender issues, including gender discrimination, particularly when
the multiple barriers faced by migrant women intersect; detailed
research should be undertaken not only in respect of human rights
violations perpetrated against women migrants, but also on the
contribution they make to the economies of their countries of origin
and their host countries, and the findings should be included in
reports to treaty bodies;
32. Urges States to recognize
the same economic opportunities and responsibilities to documented
long-term migrants as to other members of society;
33. Recommends that host
countries of migrants consider the provision of adequate social
services, in particular in the areas of health, education and
adequate housing, as a matter of priority, in cooperation with the
United Nations agencies, the regional organizations and international
financial bodies; also requests that these agencies provide an
adequate response to requests for such services;
Refugees
34. Urges States to comply with
their obligations under international human rights, refugee and
humanitarian law relating to refugees, asylum-seekers and displaced
persons, and urges the international community to provide them with
protection and assistance in an equitable manner and with due regard
to their needs in different parts of the world, in keeping with
principles of international solidarity, burden-sharing and
international cooperation, to share responsibilities;
35. Calls upon States to
recognize the racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance that refugees may face as they endeavour to engage in the
life of the societies of their host countries and encourages States,
in accordance with their international obligations and commitments,
to develop strategies to address this discrimination and to
facilitate the full enjoyment of the human rights of refugees. States
parties should ensure that all measures relating to refugees must be
in full accordance with the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of
Refugees and its 1967 Protocol;
36. Urges States to take
effective steps to protect refugee and internally displaced women and
girls from violence, to investigate any such violations and to bring
those responsible to justice, in collaboration, when appropriate,
with the relevant and competent organizations;
Other
victims
37. Urges States to take all
possible measures to ensure that all persons, without any
discrimination, are registered and have access to the necessary
documentation reflecting their legal identity to enable them to
benefit from available legal procedures, remedies and development
opportunities, as well as to reduce the incidence of trafficking;
38. Recognizes that victims of
trafficking are particularly exposed to racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. States shall
ensure that all measures taken against trafficking in persons, in
particular those that affect the victims of such trafficking, are
consistent with internationally recognized principles of
non-discrimination, including the prohibition of racial
discrimination and the availability of appropriate legal redress;
39. Calls upon States to ensure
that Roma/Gypsy/Sinti/Traveller children and youth, especially girls,
are given equal access to education and that educational curricula at
all levels, including complementary programmes on intercultural
education, which might, inter alia, include opportunities
for them to learn the official languages in the pre-school period and
to recruit Roma/Gypsy/Sinti/Traveller teachers and classroom
assistants in order for such children and youth to learn their mother
tongue, are sensitive and responsive to their needs;
40. Encourages States to adopt
appropriate and concrete policies and measures, to develop
implementation mechanisms, where these do not already exist, and to
exchange experiences, in cooperation with representatives of the
Roma/Gypsies/Sinti/Travellers, in order to eradicate discrimination
against them, enable them to achieve equality and ensure their full
enjoyment of all their human rights, as recommended in the case of
the Roma by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
in its general recommendation XXVII, so that their needs are met;
41. Recommends that the
intergovernmental organizations address, as appropriate, in their
projects of cooperation with and assistance to various States, the
situation of the Roma/Gypsies/Sinti/Travellers and promote their
economic, social and cultural advancement;
42. Calls upon States and
encourages non-governmental organizations to raise awareness about
the racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
experienced by the Roma/Gypsies/Sinti/Travellers, and to promote
knowledge and respect for their culture and history;
43. Encourages the media to
promote equal access to and participation in the media for the
Roma/Gypsies/Sinti/Travellers, as well as to protect them from
racist, stereotypical and discriminatory media reporting, and calls
upon States to facilitate the media’s efforts in this regard;
44. Invites States to design
policies aimed at combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia
and related intolerance that are based on reliable statistical data
recognizing the concerns identified in consultation with the
Roma/Gypsies/Sinti/Travellers themselves reflecting as accurately as
possible their status in society. All such information shall be
collected in accordance with provisions on human rights and
fundamental freedoms, such as data protection regulations and privacy
guarantees, and in consultation with the persons concerned;
45. Encourages States to address
the problems of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance against people of Asian descent and urges States to take
all necessary measures to eliminate the barriers that such persons
face in participating in economic, social, cultural and political
life;
46. Urges States to ensure
within their jurisdiction that persons belonging to national or
ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities can exercise fully and
effectively all human rights and fundamental freedoms without any
discrimination and in full equality before the law, and also urges
States and the international community to promote and protect the
rights of such persons;
47. Urges States to guarantee
the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and
linguistic minorities, individually or in community with other
members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and
practise their own religion, and to use their own language, in
private and in public, freely and without interference, and to
participate effectively in the cultural, social, economic and
political life of the country in which they live, in order to protect
them from any form of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance that they are or may be subjected to;
48. Urges States to recognize
the effect that discrimination, marginalization and social exclusion
have had and continue to have on many racial groups living in a
numerically based minority situation within a State, and to ensure
that persons in such groups can exercise, as individual members of
such groups, fully and effectively, all human rights and fundamental
freedoms without distinction and in full equality before the law, and
to take, where applicable, appropriate measures in respect of
employment, housing and education with a view to preventing racial
discrimination;
49. Urges States to take, where
applicable, appropriate measures to prevent racial discrimination
against persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and
linguistic minorities in respect of employment, health care, housing,
social services and education, and in this context forms of multiple
discrimination should be taken into account;
50. Urges States to incorporate
a gender perspective in all programmes of action against racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and to
consider the burden of such discrimination which falls particularly
on indigenous women, African women, Asian women, women of African
descent, women of Asian descent, women migrants and women from other
disadvantaged groups, ensuring their access to the resources of
production on an equal footing with men, as a means of promoting
their participation in the economic and productive development of
their communities;
51. Urges States to involve
women, especially women victims of racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance, in decision-making at all levels
when working towards the eradication of such discrimination, and to
develop concrete measures to incorporate race and gender analysis in
the implementation of all aspects of the Programme of Action and
national plans of action, particularly in the fields of employment
programmes and services and resource allocation;
52. Recognizing that poverty
shapes economic and social status and establishes obstacles to the
effective political participation of women and men in different ways
and to different extents, urges States to undertake gender
analyses of all economic and social policies and programmes,
especially poverty eradication measures, including those designed and
implemented to benefit those individuals or groups of individuals who
are victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance;
53. Urges States and encourages
all sectors of society to empower women and girls who are victims of
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, so
that they can fully exercise their rights in all spheres of public
and private life, and to ensure the full, equal and effective
participation of women in decision-making at all levels, in
particular in the design, implementation and evaluation of policies
and measures which affect their lives;
54. Urges States:
(a)To recognize that sexual violence
which has been systematically used as a weapon of war, sometimes with
the acquiescence or at the instigation of the State, is a serious
violation of international humanitarian law that, in defined
circumstances, constitutes a crime against humanity and/or a war
crime, and that the intersection of discrimination on grounds of race
and gender makes women and girls particularly vulnerable to this type
of violence, which is often related to racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance;
(b)To end impunity and prosecute those
responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes, including
crimes related to sexual and other gender-based violence against
women and girls, as well as to ensure that persons in authority who
are responsible for such crimes, including by committing, ordering,
soliciting, inducing, aiding in, abetting, assisting or in any other
way contributing to their commission or attempted commission, are
identified, investigated, prosecuted and punished;
55. Requests States, in
collaboration where necessary with international organizations,
having the best interests of the child as a primary consideration, to
provide protection against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia
and related intolerance against children, especially those in
circumstances of particular vulnerability, and to pay special
attention to the situation of such children when designing relevant
policies, strategies and programmes;
56. Urges States, in accordance
with their national law and their obligations under the relevant
international instruments, to take all measures to the maximum extent
of their available resources to guarantee, without any
discrimination, the equal right of all children to the immediate
registration of birth, in order to enable them to exercise their
human rights and fundamental freedoms. States shall grant women equal
rights with men with respect to nationality;
57.
Urges States and international and regional
organizations, and encourages non governmental organizations and
the private sector, to address the situation of persons with
disabilities who are also subject to racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance; also urges States to take
necessary measures to ensure their full enjoyment of all human rights
and to facilitate their full integration into all fields of life;
III.
Measures of prevention, education and protection aimed at the
eradication of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance at the national, regional and international levels
58. Urges States to adopt and
implement, at both the national and international levels, effective
measures and policies, in addition to existing anti-discrimination
national legislation and relevant international instruments and
mechanisms, which encourage all citizens and institutions to take a
stand against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance, and to recognize, respect and maximize the benefits of
diversity within and among all nations in working together to build a
harmonious and productive future by putting into practice and
promoting values and principles such as justice, equality and
non-discrimination, democracy, fairness and friendship, tolerance and
respect within and between communities and nations, in particular
through public information and education programmes to raise
awareness and understanding of the benefits of cultural diversity,
including programmes where the public authorities work in partnership
with international and non-governmental organizations and other
sectors of civil society;
59. Urges States to mainstream a
gender perspective in the design and development of measures of
prevention, education and protection aimed at the eradication of
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance at
all levels, to ensure that they effectively target the distinct
situations of women and men;
60. Urges States to adopt or
strengthen, as appropriate, national programmes for eradicating
poverty and reducing social exclusion which take account of the needs
and experiences of individuals or groups of individuals who are
victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance, and also urges that they expand their efforts to foster
bilateral, regional and international cooperation in implementing
those programmes;
61. Urges States to work to
ensure that their political and legal systems reflect the
multicultural diversity within their societies and, where necessary,
to improve democratic institutions so that they are more fully
participatory and avoid marginalization, exclusion and discrimination
against specific sectors of society;
62. Urges States to take all
necessary measures to address specifically, through policies and
programmes, racism and racially motivated violence against women and
girls and to increase cooperation, policy responses and effective
implementation of national legislation and of their obligations under
relevant international instruments, and other protective and
preventive measures aimed at the elimination of all forms of racially
motivated discrimination and violence against women and girls;
63. Encourages the business
sector, in particular the tourist industry and Internet providers, to
develop codes of conduct, with a view to preventing trafficking in
persons and protecting the victims of such traffic, especially those
in prostitution, against gender-based and racial discrimination and
promoting their rights, dignity and security;
64. Urges States to devise,
enforce and strengthen effective measures at the national, regional
and international levels to prevent, combat and eliminate all forms
of trafficking in women and children, in particular girls, through
comprehensive anti-trafficking strategies which include legislative
measures, prevention campaigns and information exchange. It also
urges States to allocate resources, as appropriate, to provide
comprehensive programmes designed to provide assistance to,
protection for, healing, reintegration into society and
rehabilitation of victims. States shall provide or strengthen
training for law enforcement, immigration and other relevant
officials who deal with victims of trafficking in this regard;
65.
Encourages the bodies, agencies and relevant programmes
of the United Nations system and States to promote and to make use of
the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (E/CN. 4/1998/53/Add.
2), particularly those provisions relating to non discrimination,
A. National level
1. Legislative,
judicial, regulatory, administrative and other measures to prevent
and protect against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance
66. Urges States to establish
and implement without delay national policies and action plans to
combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance, including their gender-based manifestations;
67. Urges States to design or
reinforce, promote and implement effective legislative and
administrative policies, as well as other preventive measures,
against the serious situation experienced by certain groups of
workers, including migrant workers, who are victims of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. Special attention
should be given to protecting people engaged in domestic work and
trafficked persons from discrimination and violence, as well as to
combating prejudice against them;
68. Urges States to adopt and
implement, or strengthen, national legislation and administrative
measures that expressly and specifically counter racism and prohibit
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, whether
direct or indirect, in all spheres of public life, in accordance with
their obligations under the International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, ensuring that
their reservations are not contrary to the object and purpose of the
Convention;
69. Urges States to enact and
implement, as appropriate, laws against trafficking in persons,
especially women and children, and smuggling of migrants, taking into
account practices that endanger human lives or lead to various kinds
of servitude and exploitation, such as debt bondage, slavery, sexual
exploitation or labour exploitation; also encourages States to
create, if they do not already exist, mechanisms to combat such
practices and to allocate adequate resources to ensure law
enforcement and the protection of the rights of victims, and to
reinforce bilateral, regional and international cooperation,
including with non-governmental organizations that assist victims, to
combat this trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants;
70. Urges States to take all
necessary constitutional, legislative and administrative measures to
foster equality among individuals and groups of individuals who are
victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance, and to review existing measures with a view to amending
or repealing national legislation and administrative provisions that
may give rise to such forms of discrimination;
71. Urges States, including
their law enforcement agencies, to design and fully implement
effective policies and programmes to prevent, detect and ensure
accountability for misconduct by police officers and other law
enforcement personnel which is motivated by racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and to prosecute
perpetrators of such misconduct;
72. Urges States to design,
implement and enforce effective measures to eliminate the phenomenon
popularly known as “racial profiling” and comprising the
practice of police and other law enforcement officers relying, to any
degree, on race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin as the
basis for subjecting persons to investigatory activities or for
determining whether an individual is engaged in criminal activity;
73. Urges States to take
measures to prevent genetic research or its applications from being
used to promote racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance, to protect the privacy of personal genetic information
and to prevent such information from being used for discriminatory or
racist purposes;
74. Urges States and invites
non-governmental organizations and the private sector:
(a)To create and implement policies
that promote a high-quality and diverse police force free from
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance,
and recruit actively all groups, including minorities, into public
employment, including the police force and other agencies within the
criminal justice system (such as prosecutors);
(b)To work to reduce violence,
including violence motivated by racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance, by:
Developing educational materials
to teach young people the importance of tolerance and respect;
Addressing bias before it
manifests itself in violent criminal activity;
Establishing working groups
consisting of, among others, local community leaders and national
and local law enforcement officials, to improve coordination,
community involvement, training, education and data collection, with
the aim of preventing such violent criminal activity;
Ensuring that civil rights laws
that prohibit violent criminal activity are strongly enforced;
Enhancing data collection
regarding violence motivated by racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance;
Providing appropriate assistance
to victims, and public education to prevent future incidents of
violence motivated by racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance;
Ratification of and
effective implementation of relevant international and regional legal
instruments on human rights and non-discrimination
75. Urges States that have not
yet done so to consider ratifying or acceding to the international
human rights instruments which combat racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance, in particular to accede to the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination as a matter of urgency, with a view to universal
ratification by the year 2005, and to consider making the declaration
envisaged under article 14, to comply with their reporting
obligations, and to publish and act upon the concluding observations
of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It also
urges States to withdraw reservations contrary to the object and
purpose of that Convention and to consider withdrawing other
reservations;
76. Urges States to give due
consideration to the observations and recommendations of the
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. To that
effect, States should consider setting up appropriate national
monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to ensure that all appropriate
steps are taken to follow up on these observations and
recommendations;
77. Urges States that have not
yet done so to consider becoming parties to the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as to
consider acceding to the Optional Protocols to the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
78. Urges those States that have
not yet done so to consider signing and ratifying or acceding to the
following instruments:
(a)Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948;
(b)International Labour Organization
Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97);
(c)Convention for the Suppression of
the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of
Others of 1949;
(d)Convention relating to the Status of
Refugees of 1951, and its 1967 Protocol;
(e)International Labour Organization
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No.
111);
(f)Convention against Discrimination in
Education, adopted on 14 December 1960 by the General Conference of
the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization;
(g)Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women of 1979, with a view to
achieving universal ratification within five years, and its Optional
Protocol of 1999;
(h)Convention on the Rights of the
Child of 1989 and its two Optional Protocols of 2000, and the
International Labour Organization Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No.
138) and Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182);
(i)International Labour Organization
Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No.
143);
(j)International Labour Organization
Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) and the
Convention on Biological Diversity of 1992;
(k)International Convention on the
Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their
Families of 1990;
(l)The Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court of 1998;
(m)United Nations Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and
Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children,
supplementing the Convention and the Protocol against the Smuggling
of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the Convention of
2000;
It further urges States parties to
these instruments to implement them fully;
79. Calls upon States to promote
and protect the exercise of the rights set out in the Declaration on
the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination
Based on Religion or Belief, proclaimed by the General Assembly in
its resolution 36/55 of 25 November 1981, in order to
obviate religious discrimination which, when combined with certain
other forms of discrimination, constitutes a form of multiple
discrimination;
80. Urges States to seek full
respect for, and compliance with, the Vienna Convention on Consular
Relations of 1963, especially as it relates to the right of foreign
nationals, regardless of their legal and immigration status, to
communicate with a consular officer of their own State in the case of
arrest or detention;
81. Urges all States to prohibit
discriminatory treatment based on race, colour, descent or national
or ethnic origin against foreigners and migrant workers, inter alia,
where appropriate, concerning the granting of work visas and work
permits, housing, health care and access to justice;
82. Underlines the importance of
combating impunity, including for crimes with a racist or xenophobic
motivation, also at the international level, noting that impunity for
violations of human rights and international humanitarian law is a
serious obstacle to a fair and equitable justice system and,
ultimately, reconciliation and stability; it also fully supports the
work of the existing international
criminal tribunals and ratification of the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court, and urges all States to cooperate with
these international criminal tribunals;
83. Urges States to make every
effort to apply fully the relevant provisions of the International
Labour Organization Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights
at Work of 1998, in order to combat racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
Prosecution of perpetrators of
racist acts
84. Urges States to adopt
effective measures to combat criminal acts motivated by racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, to take
measures so that such motivations are considered an aggravating
factor for the purposes of sentencing, to prevent these crimes from
going unpunished and to ensure the rule of law;
85. Urges States to undertake
investigations to examine possible links between criminal
prosecution, police violence and penal sanctions, on the one hand,
and racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance, on the other, so as to have evidence for taking the
necessary steps for the eradication of any such links and
discriminatory practices;
86. Calls upon States to promote
measures to deter the emergence of and to counter neo fascist,
violent nationalist ideologies which promote racial hatred and racial
discrimination, as well as racist and xenophobic sentiments,
including measures to combat the negative influence of such
ideologies especially on young people through formal and non-formal
education, the media and sport;
87. Urges States parties to
adopt legislation implementing the obligations they have assumed to
prosecute and punish persons who have committed or ordered to be
committed grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949
and Additional Protocol I thereto and of other serious violations of
the laws and customs of war, in particular in relation to the
principle of non discrimination;
88. Calls upon States to
criminalize all forms of trafficking in persons, in particular women
and children, and to condemn and penalize traffickers and
intermediaries, while ensuring protection and assistance to the
victims of trafficking, with full respect for their human rights;
89. Urges States to carry out
comprehensive, exhaustive, timely and impartial investigations of all
unlawful acts of racism and racial discrimination, to prosecute
criminal offences ex officio, as appropriate, or initiate or
facilitate all appropriate actions arising from offences of a racist
or xenophobic nature, to ensure that criminal and civil
investigations and prosecutions of offences of a racist or xenophobic
nature are given high priority and are actively and consistently
undertaken, and to ensure the right to equal treatment before the
tribunals and all other organs administering justice. In this regard,
the World Conference underlines the importance of fostering awareness
and providing training to the various agents in the criminal justice
system to ensure fair and impartial application of the law. In this
respect, it recommends that anti discrimination monitoring
services be established;
Establishment and reinforcement of
independent specialized national institutions and mediation
90. Urges States, as
appropriate, to establish, strengthen, review and reinforce the
effectiveness of independent national human rights institutions,
particularly on issues of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia
and related intolerance, in conformity with the Principles relating
to the status of national institutions for the promotion and
protection of human rights, annexed to General Assembly resolution
48/134 of 20 December 1993, and to provide them with adequate
financial resources, competence and capacity for investigation,
research, education and public awareness activities to combat these
phenomena;
91. Also urges States:
(a)To foster cooperation between these
institutions and other national institutions;
(b)To take steps to ensure that those
individuals or groups of individuals who are victims of racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance can
participate fully in these institutions;
(c)To support these institutions and
similar bodies, inter alia through the publication and
circulation of existing national laws and jurisprudence, and
cooperation with institutions in other countries, so that knowledge
can be gained of the manifestations, functions and mechanisms of
these practices and the strategies designed to prevent, combat and
eradicate them;
2. Policies and
practices
Data collection and
disaggregation, research and study
92. Urges States to collect,
compile, analyse, disseminate and publish reliable statistical data
at the national and local levels and undertake all other related
measures which are necessary to assess regularly the situation of
individuals and groups of individuals who are victims of racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
(a)Such statistical data should be
disaggregated in accordance with national legislation. Any such
information shall, as appropriate, be collected with the explicit
consent of the victims, based on their self-identification and in
accordance with provisions on human rights and fundamental freedoms,
such as data protection regulations and privacy guarantees. This
information must not be misused;
(b)The statistical data and information
should be collected with the objective of monitoring the situation of
marginalized groups, and the development and evaluation of
legislation, policies, practices and other measures aimed at
preventing and combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia
and related intolerance, as well as for the purpose of determining
whether any measures have an unintentional disparate impact on
victims. To that end, it recommends the development of voluntary,
consensual and participatory strategies in the process of collecting,
designing and using information;
(c)The information should take into
account economic and social indicators, including, where appropriate,
health and health status, infant and maternal mortality, life
expectancy, literacy, education, employment, housing, land ownership,
mental and physical health care, water, sanitation, energy and
communications services, poverty and average disposable income, in
order to elaborate social and economic development policies with a
view to closing the existing gaps in social and economic conditions;
93. Invites States,
intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations,
academic institutions and the private sector to improve concepts and
methods of data collection and analysis; to promote research,
exchange experiences and successful practices and develop promotional
activities in this area; and to develop indicators of progress and
participation of individuals and groups of individuals in society
subject to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance;
94. Recognizes that policies and
programmes aimed at combating racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance should be based on quantitative
and qualitative research, incorporating a gender perspective. Such
policies and programmes should take into account priorities
identified by individuals and groups of individuals who are victims
of, or subject to, racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance;
95. Urges States to establish
regular monitoring of acts of racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance in the public and private sectors,
including those committed by law enforcement officials;
96. Invites States to promote
and conduct studies and adopt an integral, objective and long term
approach to all phases and aspects of migration which will deal
effectively with both its causes and manifestations. These studies
and approaches should pay special attention to the root causes of
migratory flows, such as lack of full enjoyment of human rights and
fundamental freedoms, and the effects of economic globalization on
migration trends;
97. Recommends that further
studies be conducted on how racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia
and related intolerance may be reflected in laws, policies,
institutions and practices and how this may have contributed to the
victimization and exclusion of migrants, especially women and
children;
98. Recommends that States
include where applicable in their periodic reports to United Nations
human rights treaty bodies, in an appropriate form, statistical
information relating to individuals, members of groups and
communities within their jurisdiction, including statistical data on
participation in political life and on their economic, social and
cultural situation. All such information shall be collected in
accordance with provisions on human rights and fundamental freedoms,
such as data protection regulations and privacy guarantees;
Action-oriented
policies and action plans, including affirmative action to ensure
non-discrimination, in particular as regards access to social
services, employment, housing, education, health care, etc.
99. Recognizes that combating
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance is
a primary responsibility of States. It therefore encourages States to
develop or elaborate national action plans to promote diversity,
equality, equity, social justice, equality of opportunity and the
participation of all. Through, among other things, affirmative or
positive actions and strategies, these plans should aim at creating
conditions for all to participate effectively in decision-making and
realize civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights in all
spheres of life on the basis of non-discrimination. The World
Conference encourages States, in developing and elaborating such
action plans, to establish, or reinforce, dialogue with
non governmental organizations in order to involve them more
closely in designing, implementing and evaluating policies and
programmes;
100. Urges States to establish,
on the basis of statistical information, national programmes,
including affirmative or positive measures, to promote the access of
individuals and groups of individuals who are or may be victims of
racial discrimination to basic social services, including primary
education, basic health care and adequate housing;
101. Urges States to establish
programmes to promote the access without discrimination of
individuals or groups of individuals who are victims of racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance to health
care, and to promote strong efforts to eliminate disparities,
inter alia in the infant and maternal mortality rates,
childhood immunizations, HIV/AIDS, heart diseases, cancer and
contagious diseases;
102. Urges States to promote
residential integration of all members of the society at the planning
stage of urban development schemes and other human settlements, as
well as while renewing neglected areas of public housing, so as to
counter social exclusion and marginalization;
Employment
103. Urges States to promote and
support where appropriate the organization and operation of
enterprises owned by persons who are victims of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance by promoting equal
access to credit and to training programmes;
104. Urges States and encourages
non-governmental organizations and the private sector:
(a)To support the creation of
workplaces free of discrimination through a multifaceted strategy
that includes civil rights enforcement, public education and
communication within the workplace, and to promote and protect the
rights of workers who are subject to racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance;
(b)To foster the creation, growth and
expansion of businesses dedicated to improving economic and
educational conditions in underserved and disadvantaged areas, by
increasing access to capital through, inter alia,
community development banks, recognizing that new businesses can have
a positive, dynamic impact on communities in need, and to work with
the private sector to create jobs, help retain existing jobs and
stimulate industrial and commercial growth in economically distressed
areas;
(c)To improve the prospects of targeted
groups facing, inter alia, the greatest obstacles in
finding, keeping or regaining work, including skilled employment.
Particular attention should be paid to persons subject to multiple
discrimination;
105. Urges States to give
special attention, when devising and implementing legislation and
policies designed to enhance the protection of workers’ rights,
to the serious situation of lack of protection, and in some cases
exploitation, as in the case of trafficked persons and smuggled
migrants, which makes them more vulnerable to ill-treatment such as
confinement in the case of domestic workers and also being employed
in dangerous and poorly paid jobs;
106. Urges States to avoid the
negative effects of discriminatory practices, racism and xenophobia
in employment and occupation by promoting the application and
observance of international instruments and norms on workers’
rights;
107. Calls upon States and
encourages representative trade unions and the business sector to
advance non-discriminatory practices in the workplace and protect the
rights of workers, including, in particular, the victims of racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
108. Calls upon States to
provide effective access to administrative and legal procedures and
other remedial action to victims of racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance in the workplace;
Health, environment
109. Urges States, individually
and through international cooperation, to enhance measures to fulfil
the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable
standard of physical and mental health, with a view to eliminating
disparities in health status, as indicated in standard health
indexes, which might result from racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance;
110. Urges States and encourages
non-governmental organizations and the private sector:
(a)To provide effective mechanisms for
monitoring and eliminating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia
and related intolerance in the health-care system, such as the
development and enforcement of effective anti-discrimination laws;
(b)To take steps to ensure equal access
to comprehensive, quality health care affordable for all, including
primary health care for medically underserved people, facilitate the
training of a health workforce that is both diverse and motivated to
work in underserved communities, and work to increase diversity in
the health-care profession by recruiting on merit and potential women
and men from all groups, representing the diversity of their
societies, for health-care careers and by retaining them in the
health professions;
(c)To work with health-care
professionals, community-based health providers, non governmental
organizations, scientific researchers and private industry as a means
of improving the health status of marginalized communities, in
particular victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance;
(d)To work with health professionals,
scientific researchers and international and regional health
organizations to study the differential impact of medical treatments
and health strategies on various communities;
(e)To adopt and implement policies and
programmes to improve HIV/AIDS prevention efforts in high-risk
communities and work to expand availability of HIV/AIDS care,
treatment and other support services;
111. Invites States to consider
non-discriminatory measures to provide a safe and healthy environment
for individuals and groups of individuals victims of or subject to
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance,
and in particular:
(a)To improve access to public
information on health and environment issues;
(b)To ensure that relevant concerns are
taken into account in the public process of decision-making on the
environment;
(c)To share technology and successful
practices to improve human health and environment in all areas;
(d)To take appropriate remedial
measures, as possible, to clean, re-use and redevelop contaminated
sites and, where appropriate, relocate those affected on a voluntary
basis after consultations;
Equal participation in political,
economic, social and cultural decision-making
112. Urges States and encourages
the private sector and international financial and development
institutions, such as the World Bank and regional development banks,
to promote participation of individuals and groups of individuals who
are victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance in economic, cultural and social decision making at
all stages, particularly in the development and implementation of
poverty alleviation strategies, development projects, and trade and
market assistance programmes;
113. Urges States to promote, as
appropriate, effective and equal access of all members of the
community, especially those who are victims of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, to the
decision-making process in society at all levels and in particular at
the local level, and also urges States and encourages the private
sector to facilitate their effective participation in economic life;
114. Urges all multilateral
financial and development institutions, in particular the World Bank,
the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization and
regional development banks, to promote, in accordance with their
regular budgets and the procedures of their governing bodies,
participation by all members of the international community in
decision making processes at all stages and levels in order to
facilitate development projects and, as appropriate, trade and market
access programmes;
Role of politicians and political
parties
115. Underlines the key role
that politicians and political parties can play in combating racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and
encourages political parties to take concrete steps to promote
equality, solidarity and non-discrimination in society, inter alia
by developing voluntary codes of conduct which include internal
disciplinary measures for violations thereof, so their members
refrain from public statements and actions that encourage or incite
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
116. Invites the
Inter-Parliamentary Union to encourage debate in, and action by,
parliaments on various measures, including laws and policies, to
combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance;
3. Education and
awareness-raising measures
117. Urges States, where
appropriate working with other relevant bodies, to commit financial
resources to anti-racism education and to media campaigns promoting
the values of acceptance, tolerance, diversity and respect for the
cultures of all indigenous peoples living within their national
borders. In particular, States should promote an accurate
understanding of the histories and cultures of indigenous peoples;
118. Urges the United Nations,
other appropriate international and regional organizations and States
to redress the marginalization of Africa’s contribution to world
history and civilization by developing and implementing a specific
and comprehensive programme of research, education and mass
communication to disseminate widely a balanced and objective
presentation of Africa’s seminal and valuable contribution to
humanity;
119. Invites States and relevant
international organizations and non-governmental organizations to
build upon the efforts of the Slave Route Project of the United
Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization and its
theme of “Breaking the silence” by developing texts and
testimony, slavery multi-media centres and/or programmes that will
collect, record, organize, exhibit and publish the existing data
relevant to the history of slavery and the trans-Atlantic,
Mediterranean and Indian Ocean slave trades, paying particular
attention to the thoughts and actions of the victims of slavery and
the slave trade, in their quest for freedom and justice;
120. Salutes the efforts of the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization made
within the framework of the Slave Route Project and requests that the
outcome be made available to the international community as soon as
possible;
Access to education without
discrimination
121. Urges States to commit
themselves to ensuring access to education, including access to free
primary education for all children, both girls and boys, and access
for adults to lifelong learning and education, based on respect for
human rights, diversity and tolerance, without discrimination of any
kind;
122. Urges States to ensure
equal access to education for all in law and in practice, and to
refrain from any legal or any other measures leading to imposed
racial segregation in any form in access to schooling;
123. Urges States:
(a)To adopt and implement laws that
prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, colour, descent or
national or ethnic origin at all levels of education, both formal and
non-formal;
(b)To take all appropriate measures to
eliminate obstacles limiting the access of children to education;
(c)To ensure that all children have
access without discrimination to education of good quality;
(d)To establish and implement
standardized methods to measure and track the educational performance
of disadvantaged children and young people;
(e)To commit resources to eliminate,
where they exist, inequalities in educational outcomes for children
and young people;
(f)To support efforts to ensure safe
school environments, free from violence and harassment motivated by
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia or related intolerance; and
(g)To consider establishing financial
assistance programmes designed to enable all students, regardless of
race, colour, descent or ethnic or national origin, to attend
institutions of higher education;
124.
Urges States to adopt, where applicable, appropriate
measures to ensure that persons belonging to national or ethnic,
religious and linguistic minorities have access to education without
discrimination of any kind and, where possible, have an opportunity
to learn their own language in order to protect them from any form of
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
that they may be subjected to;
Human rights education
125. Requests States to include
the struggle against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance among the activities undertaken within the
framework of the United Nations Decade for Human
Rights Education (1995-2004) and to take into account the
recommendations of the mid-term evaluation report of the Decade;
126. Encourages all States, in
cooperation with the United Nations, the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization and other relevant international
organizations, to initiate and develop cultural and educational
programmes aimed at countering racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance, in order to ensure respect for
the dignity and worth of all human beings and enhance mutual
understanding among all cultures and civilizations. It further urges
States to support and implement public information campaigns and
specific training programmes in the field of human rights, where
appropriate formulated in local languages, to combat racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and promote
respect for the values of diversity, pluralism, tolerance, mutual
respect, cultural sensitivity, integration and inclusiveness. Such
programmes and campaigns should be addressed to all sectors of
society, in particular children and young people;
127. Urges States to intensify
their efforts in the field of education, including human rights
education, in order to promote an understanding and awareness of the
causes, consequences and evils of racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance, and also urges States, in
consultation with educational authorities and the private sector, as
appropriate, and encourages educational authorities and the private
sector, as appropriate, to develop educational materials, including
textbooks and dictionaries, aimed at combating those phenomena and,
in this context, calls upon States to give importance, if
appropriate, to textbook and curriculum review and amendment, so as
to eliminate any elements that might promote racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance or reinforce
negative stereotypes, and to include material that refutes such
stereotypes;
128. Urges States, if
appropriate in cooperation with relevant organizations, including
youth organizations, to support and implement public formal and
non-formal education programmes designed to promote respect for
cultural diversity;
Human rights education for children
and youth
129. Urges States to introduce
and, as applicable, to reinforce anti-discrimination and anti racism
components in human rights programmes in school curricula, to develop
and improve relevant educational material, including history and
other textbooks, and to ensure that all teachers are effectively
trained and adequately motivated to shape attitudes and behavioural
patterns, based on the principles of non-discrimination, mutual
respect and tolerance;
130. Calls upon States to
undertake and facilitate activities aimed at educating young people
in human rights and democratic citizenship and instilling values of
solidarity, respect and appreciation of diversity, including respect
for different groups. A special effort to inform and sensitize young
people to respect democratic values and human rights should be
undertaken or developed to fight against ideologies based on the
fallacious theory of racial superiority;
131. Urges States to encourage
all schools to consider developing educational activities, including
extracurricular ones, to raise awareness against racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, inter alia
by commemorating the International Day for the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination (21 March);
132. Recommends that States
introduce, or reinforce, human rights education, with a view to
combating prejudices which lead to racial discrimination and to
promoting understanding, tolerance and friendship between different
racial or ethnic groups, in schools and in institutions of higher
education, and support public formal and non-formal education
programmes designed to promote respect for cultural diversity and the
self-esteem of victims;
Human rights education for public
officials and professionals
133. Urges States to develop and
strengthen anti-racist and gender-sensitive human rights training for
public officials, including personnel in the administration of
justice, particularly in law enforcement, correctional and security
services, as well as among health-care, schools and migration
authorities;
134. Urges States to pay
specific attention to the negative impact of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance on the
administration of justice and fair trial, and to conduct nationwide
campaigns, amongst other measures, to raise awareness among State
organs and public officials concerning their obligations under the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination and other relevant instruments;
135. Requests States, wherever
appropriate through cooperation with international organizations,
national institutions, non-governmental organizations and the private
sector, to organize and facilitate training activities, including
courses or seminars, on international norms prohibiting racial
discrimination and their applicability in domestic law, as well as on
their international human rights obligations, for prosecutors,
members of the judiciary and other public officials;
136. Calls upon States to ensure
that education and training, especially teacher training, promote
respect for human rights and the fight against racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and that
educational institutions implement policies and programmes agreed by
the relevant authorities on equal opportunities, anti-racism, gender
equality, and cultural, religious and other diversity, with the
participation of teachers, parents and students, and follow up their
implementation. It further urges all educators, including teachers at
all levels of education, religious communities and the print and
electronic media, to play an effective role in human rights
education, including as a means to combat racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
137. Encourages States to
consider taking measures to increase the recruitment, retention and
promotion of women and men belonging to groups which are currently
under represented in the teaching profession as a result of
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance,
and to guarantee them effective equality of access to the profession.
Particular efforts should be made to recruit women and men who have
the ability to interact effectively with all groups;
138. Urges States to strengthen
the human rights training and awareness-raising activities designed
for immigration officials, border police and staff of detention
centres and prisons, local authorities and other civil servants in
charge of enforcing laws, as well as teachers, with particular
attention to the human rights of migrants, refugees and
asylum-seekers, in order to prevent acts of racial discrimination and
xenophobia and to avoid situations where prejudices lead to decisions
based on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia or related
intolerance;
139. Urges States to provide or
strengthen training for law enforcement, immigration and other
relevant officials in the prevention of trafficking in persons. The
training should focus on methods used in preventing such trafficking,
prosecuting the traffickers and protecting the rights of victims,
including protecting the victims from the traffickers. The training
should also take into account the need to consider human rights and
child- and gender-sensitive issues and it should encourage
cooperation with non-governmental organizations, other relevant
organizations and other elements of civil society;
4. Information,
communication and the media, including new technologies
140. Welcomes the positive
contribution made by the new information and communications
technologies, including the Internet, in combating racism through
rapid and wide-reaching communication;
141. Draws attention to the
potential to increase the use of the new information and
communications technologies, including the Internet, to create
educational and awareness-raising networks against racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, both in and out
of school, as well as the ability of the Internet to promote
universal respect for human rights and also respect for the value of
cultural diversity;
142. Emphasizes the importance
of recognizing the value of cultural diversity and of putting in
place concrete measures to encourage the access of marginalized
communities to the mainstream and alternative media through, inter
alia, the presentation of programmes that reflect their cultures
and languages;
143. Expresses concern at the
material progression of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance, including their contemporary forms and
manifestations, such as the use of the new information and
communications technologies, including the Internet, to disseminate
ideas of racial superiority;
144. Urges States and encourages
the private sector to promote the development by the media, including
the print and electronic media, including the Internet and
advertising, taking into account their independence, through their
relevant associations and organizations at the national, regional and
international levels, of a voluntary ethical code of conduct and
self regulatory measures, and of policies and practices aimed
at:
(a)Combating racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
(b)Promoting the fair, balanced and
equitable representation of the diversity of their societies, as well
as ensuring that this diversity is reflected among their staff;
(c)Combating the proliferation of ideas
of racial superiority, justification of racial hatred and
discrimination in any form;
(d)Promoting respect, tolerance and
understanding among all individuals, peoples, nations and
civilizations, for example through assistance in public
awareness-raising campaigns;
(e)Avoiding stereotyping in all its
forms, and particularly the promotion of false images of migrants,
including migrant workers, and refugees, in order to prevent the
spread of xenophobic sentiments among the public and to encourage the
objective and balanced portrayal of people, events and history;
145. Urges States to implement
legal sanctions, in accordance with relevant international human
rights law, in respect of incitement to racial hatred through new
information and communications technologies, including the Internet,
and further urges them to apply all relevant human rights instruments
to which they are parties, in particular the International Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to racism
on the Internet;
146. Urges States to encourage
the media to avoid stereotyping based on racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
147. Calls upon States to
consider the following, taking fully into account existing
international and regional standards on freedom of expression, while
taking all necessary measures to guarantee the right to freedom of
opinion and expression:
(a)Encouraging Internet service
providers to establish and disseminate specific voluntary codes of
conduct and self-regulatory measures against the dissemination of
racist messages and those that result in racial discrimination,
xenophobia or any form of intolerance and discrimination; to that
end, Internet providers are encouraged to set up mediating bodies at
national and international levels, involving relevant civil society
institutions;
(b)Adopting and applying, to the extent
possible, appropriate legislation for prosecuting those responsible
for incitement to racial hatred or violence through the new
information and communications technologies, including the Internet;
(c)Addressing the problem of
dissemination of racist material through the new information and
communications technologies, including the Internet, inter alia
by imparting training to law enforcement authorities;
(d)Denouncing and actively discouraging
the transmission of racist and xenophobic messages through all
communications media, including new information and communications
technologies, such as the Internet;
(e)Considering a prompt and coordinated
international response to the rapidly evolving phenomenon of the
dissemination of hate speech and racist material through the new
information and communications technologies, including the Internet;
and in this context strengthening international cooperation;
(f)Encouraging access and use by all
people of the Internet as an international and equal forum, aware
that there are disparities in use of and access to the Internet;
(g)Examining ways in which the positive
contribution made by the new information and communications
technologies, such as the Internet, can be enhanced through
replication of good practices in combating racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
(h)Encouraging the reflection of the
diversity of societies among the personnel of media organizations and
the new information and communications technologies, such as the
Internet, by promoting adequate representation of different segments
within societies at all levels of their organizational structure;
B. International level
148. Urges all actors on the
international scene to build an international order based on
inclusion, justice, equality and equity, human dignity, mutual
understanding and promotion of and respect for cultural diversity and
universal human rights, and to reject all doctrines of exclusion
based on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance;
149. Believes that all conflicts
and disputes should be resolved through peaceful means and political
dialogue. The Conference calls on all parties involved in such
conflicts to exercise restraint and to respect human rights and
international humanitarian law;
150. Calls upon States, in
opposing all forms of racism, to recognize the need to counter
anti Semitism, anti-Arabism and Islamophobia world-wide, and
urges all States to take effective measures to prevent the emergence
of movements based on racism and discriminatory ideas concerning
these communities;
151. As for the situation in the Middle
East, calls for the end of violence and the swift resumption
of negotiations, respect for international human rights and
humanitarian law, respect for the principle of self-determination and
the end of all suffering, thus allowing Israel and the Palestinians
to resume the peace process, and to develop and prosper in security
and freedom;
152. Encourages States, regional
and international organizations, including financial institutions, as
well as civil society, to address within existing mechanisms, or
where necessary to put in place and/or develop mechanisms, to address
those aspects of globalization which may lead to racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
153. Recommends that the
Department of Peacekeeping Operations of the Secretariat and other
concerned United Nations agencies, bodies and programmes strengthen
their coordination to discern patterns of serious violations of human
rights and humanitarian law with a view to assessing the risk of
further deterioration that could lead to genocide, war crimes or
crimes against humanity;
154. Encourages the World Health
Organization and other relevant international organizations to
promote and develop activities for the recognition of the impact of
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance as
significant social determinants of physical and mental health status,
including the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and access to health care, and to
prepare specific projects, including research, to ensure equitable
health systems for the victims;
155. Encourages the
International Labour Organization to carry out activities and
programmes to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance in the world of work, and to support actions of
States, employers’ organizations and trade unions in this field;
156. Urges the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to provide support
to States in the preparation of teaching materials and tools for
promoting teaching, training and educational activities relating to
human rights and the struggle against racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance;
IV.
Provision of effective remedies, recourse, redress, and other
measures at the national, regional and international levels
157. Recognizes the efforts of
developing countries, in particular the commitment and the
determination of the African leaders, to seriously address the
challenges of poverty, underdevelopment, marginalization, social
exclusion, economic disparities, instability and insecurity, through
initiatives such as the New African Initiative and other innovative
mechanisms such as the World Solidarity Fund for the Eradication of
Poverty, and calls upon developed countries, the United Nations and
its specialized agencies, as well as international financial
institutions, to provide, through their operational programmes, new
and additional financial resources, as appropriate, to support these
initiatives;
158. Recognizes that these
historical injustices have undeniably contributed to the poverty,
underdevelopment, marginalization, social exclusion, economic
disparities, instability and insecurity that affect many people in
different parts of the world, in particular in developing countries.
The Conference recognizes the need to develop programmes for the
social and economic development of these societies and the Diaspora,
within the framework of a new partnership based on the spirit of
solidarity and mutual respect, in the following areas:
Debt relief;
Poverty eradication;
Building or strengthening democratic
institutions;
Promotion of foreign direct investment;
Market access;
Intensifying efforts to meet the
internationally agreed targets for official development assistance
transfers to developing countries;
New information and communication
technologies bridging the digital divide;
Agriculture and food security;
Transfer of technology;
Transparent and accountable governance;
Investment in health infrastructure
tackling HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, including through the
Global AIDS and Health Fund;
Infrastructure development;
Human resource development, including
capacity-building;
Education, training and cultural
development;
Mutual legal assistance in the
repatriation of illegally obtained and illegally transferred
(stashed) funds, in accordance with national and international
instruments;
Illicit traffic in small arms and light
weapons;
Restitution of art objects, historical
artefacts and documents to their countries of origin, in accordance
with bilateral agreements or international instruments;
Trafficking in persons, particularly
women and children;
Facilitation of welcomed return and
resettlement of the descendants of enslaved Africans;
159. Urges international
financial and development institutions and the operational programmes
and specialized agencies of the United Nations to give greater
priority to, and allocate appropriate funding for, programmes
addressing the development challenges of the affected States and
societies, in particular those on the African continent and in the
Diaspora;
Legal assistance
160. Urges States to take all
necessary measures to address, as a matter of urgency, the pressing
requirement for justice for the victims of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and to ensure that
victims have full access to information, support, effective
protection and national, administrative and judicial remedies,
including the right to seek just and adequate reparation or
satisfaction for damage, as well as legal assistance, where required;
161. Urges States to facilitate
for victims of racial discrimination, including victims of torture
and ill-treatment, access to all appropriate legal procedures and
free legal assistance in a manner adapted to their specific needs and
vulnerability, including through legal representation;
162. Urges States to ensure the
protection against victimization of complainants and witnesses of
acts of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance, and to consider measures such as, where appropriate,
making legal assistance, including legal aid, available
to complainants seeking a legal remedy and, if possible,
affording the possibility for non governmental organizations to
support complainants of racism, with their consent, in legal
procedures;
National legislation and programmes
163. For the purposes of effectively
combating racism and racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural
fields, the Conference recommends to all States that their
national legislative framework should expressly and specifically
prohibit racial discrimination and provide effective judicial and
other remedies or redress, including through the designation of
national, independent, specialized bodies;
164. Urges States, with regard
to the procedural remedies provided for in their domestic law, to
bear in mind the following considerations:
(a)Access to such remedies should be
widely available, on a non-discriminatory and equal basis;
(b)Existing procedural remedies should
be made known in the context of the relevant action, and victims of
racial discrimination should be helped to avail themselves of them in
accordance with the particular case;
(c)Inquiries into complaints of racial
discrimination and the adjudication of such complaints must be
carried out as rapidly as possible;
(d)Persons who are victims of racial
discrimination should be accorded legal assistance and aid in
complaint proceedings, where applicable free of charge, and, where
necessary, should be provided with the help of competent interpreters
in such complaint proceedings or in any civil or criminal cases
arising therefrom or connected thereto;
(e)The creation of competent national
bodies to investigate effectively allegations of racial
discrimination and to give protection to complainants against
intimidation or harassment is a desirable development and should be
undertaken; steps should be taken towards the enactment of
legislation to prohibit discriminatory practices on grounds of race,
colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin, and to provide for the
application of appropriate penalties against offenders and remedies,
including adequate compensation, for the victims;
(f)Access to legal remedies should be
facilitated for victims of discrimination and, in this regard, the
innovation of conferring a capacity on national and other
institutions, as well as relevant non-governmental organizations, to
assist such victims should be seriously considered, and programmes
should be developed to enable the most vulnerable groups to have
access to the legal system;
(g)New and innovative methods and
procedures of conflict resolution, mediation and conciliation
between parties involved in conflicts or disputes based on racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance should be
explored and, where possible, established;
(h)The development of restorative
justice policies and programmes for the benefit of victims of
relevant forms of discrimination is desirable and should be seriously
considered;
(i)States which have made the
declaration under article 14 of the International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination should make
increased efforts to inform their public of the existence of the
complaints mechanism under article 14;
Remedies, reparations, compensation
165. Urges States to reinforce
protection against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance by ensuring that all persons have access to
effective and adequate remedies and enjoy the right to seek from
competent national tribunals and other national institutions just and
adequate reparation and satisfaction for any damage as a result of
such discrimination. It further underlines the importance of access
to the law and to the courts for complainants of racism and racial
discrimination and draws attention to the need for judicial and other
remedies to be made widely known, easily accessible, expeditious and
not unduly complicated;
166. Urges States to adopt the
necessary measures, as provided by national law, to ensure the right
of victims to seek just and adequate reparation and satisfaction to
redress acts of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance, and to design effective measures to prevent the
repetition of such acts;
V.
Strategies to achieve full and effective equality, including
international cooperation and enhancement of the United Nations and
other international mechanisms in combating racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and follow up
167. Calls upon States to apply
diligently all commitments undertaken by them in the declarations and
plans of action of the regional conferences in which they
participated, and to formulate national policies and action plans to
combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance in compliance with the objectives set forth therein, and
as provided for in other relevant instruments and decisions; and
further requests that, in cases where such national policies and
action plans to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance already exist, States incorporate in them the
commitments arising from their regional conferences;
168. Urges States that have not
yet done so to consider acceding to the Geneva Conventions of 12
August 1949 and their two Additional Protocols of 1977, as well as to
other treaties of international humanitarian law, and to enact, with
the highest priority, appropriate legislation, taking the measures
required to give full effect to their obligations under international
humanitarian law, in particular in relation to the rules prohibiting
discrimination;
169. Urges States to develop
cooperation programmes to promote equal opportunities for the benefit
of victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance and encourages them to propose the creation of
multilateral cooperation programmes with the same objective;
170. Invites States to include
the subject of the struggle against racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance in the work programmes of the
regional integration agencies and of the regional cross boundary
dialogue forums;
171. Urges States to recognize
the challenges that people of different socially constructed races,
colours, descent, national or ethnic origins, religions and languages
experience in seeking to live together and to develop harmonious
multiracial and multicultural societies; also urges States to
recognize that the positive examples of relatively successful
multiracial and multicultural societies, such as some of those in the
Caribbean region, need to be examined and analysed, and that
techniques, mechanisms, policies and programmes for reconciling
conflicts based on factors related to race, colour, descent,
language, religion, or national or ethnic origin and for developing
harmonious multiracial and multicultural societies need to be
systematically considered and developed, and therefore requests the
United Nations and its relevant specialized agencies to consider
establishing an international centre for multiracial and
multicultural studies and policy development to undertake this
critical work for the benefit of the international community;
172. Urges States to protect the
national or ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity of
minorities within their respective territories and to develop
appropriate legislative and other measures to encourage conditions
for the promotion of that identity, in order to protect them from any
form of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance. In this context, forms of multiple discrimination should
be fully taken into account;
173. Further urges States to
ensure the equal protection and promotion of the identities of the
historically disadvantaged communities in those unique circumstances
where this may be appropriate;
174. Urges States to take or
strengthen measures, including through bilateral or multilateral
cooperation, to address root causes, such as poverty,
underdevelopment and lack of equal opportunity, some of which may be
associated with discriminatory practices, that make persons,
especially women and children, vulnerable to trafficking, which may
give rise to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance;
175. Encourages States, in
cooperation with non governmental organizations, to undertake
campaigns aimed at clarifying opportunities, limitations and rights
in the event of migration, so as to enable everyone, in particular
women, to make informed decisions and to prevent them from becoming
victims of trafficking;
176. Urges States to adopt and
implement social development policies based on reliable statistical
data and centred on the attainment, by the year 2015, of the
commitments to meet the basic needs of all set forth in paragraph 36
of the Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social
Development, held at Copenhagen in 1995, with a view to closing
significantly the existing gaps in living conditions faced by victims
of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance,
especially regarding the illiteracy rate, universal primary
education, infant mortality, under five child mortality, health,
reproductive health care for all and access to safe drinking water.
Promotion of gender equality will also be taken into account in the
adoption and implementation of these policies;
International legal framework
177. Urges States to continue
cooperating with the Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination and other human rights treaty monitoring bodies in
order to promote, including by means of a constructive and
transparent dialogue, the effective implementation of the instruments
concerned and proper consideration of the recommendations adopted by
these bodies with regard to complaints of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
178. Requests adequate resources
for the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in
order to enable it to discharge its mandate fully and stresses the
importance of providing adequate resources for all the United Nations
human rights treaty bodies;
General international instruments
179. Endorses efforts of the
international community, in particular steps taken under the auspices
of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization, to promote respect for and preserve cultural diversity
within and between communities and nations with a view to creating a
harmonious multicultural world, including elaboration of a possible
international instrument in this respect in a manner consistent with
international human rights instruments;
180. Invites the United Nations
General Assembly to consider elaborating an integral and
comprehensive international convention to protect and promote the
rights and dignity of disabled people, including, especially,
provisions that address the discriminatory practices and treatment
affecting them;
Regional/international cooperation
181. Invites the
Inter Parliamentary Union to contribute to the activities of the
International Year of Mobilization against Racism, Racial
Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance by encouraging
national parliaments to review progress on the objectives of the
Conference;
182. Encourages States to
participate in regional dialogues on problems of migration and
invites them to consider negotiating bilateral and regional
agreements on migrant workers and designing and implementing
programmes with States of other regions to protect the rights of
migrants;
183. Urges States, in
consultation with civil society, to support or otherwise establish,
as appropriate, regional, comprehensive dialogues on the causes and
consequences of migration that focus not only on law enforcement and
border control, but also on the promotion and protection of the human
rights of migrants and on the relationship between migration and
development;
184. Encourages international
organizations having mandates dealing specifically with migration
issues to exchange information and coordinate their activities on
matters involving racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance against migrants, including migrant workers, with
the support of the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights;
185. Expresses its deep concern
over the severity of the humanitarian suffering of affected civilian
populations and the burden carried by many receiving countries,
particularly developing countries and countries in transition, and
requests the relevant international institutions to ensure that
urgent adequate financial and humanitarian assistance is maintained
for the host countries to enable them to help the victims and to
address, on an equitable basis, difficulties of populations expelled
from their homes, and calls for sufficient safeguards to enable
refugees to exercise freely their right of return to their countries
of origin voluntarily, in safety and dignity;
186. Encourages States to
conclude bilateral, subregional, regional and international
agreements to address the problem of trafficking in women and
children, in particular girls, as well as the smuggling of
migrants;
187. Calls upon States, to
promote, as appropriate, exchanges at the regional and international
levels among independent national institutions and, as applicable,
other relevant independent bodies with a view to enhancing
cooperation to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance;
188. Urges States to support the
activities of regional bodies or centres which combat racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance where they exist
in their region, and recommends the establishment of such bodies or
centres in all regions where they do not exist. These bodies or
centres may undertake the following activities, amongst others:
assess and follow up the situation of racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance, and of individuals or groups of
individuals who are victims thereof or subject thereto; identify
trends, issues and problems; collect, disseminate and exchange
information, inter alia relevant to the outcome of the
regional conferences and the World Conference, and build networks to
these ends; highlight examples of good practices; organize
awareness-raising campaigns; develop proposals, solutions and
preventive measures, where possible and appropriate, through joint
efforts by coordinating with the United Nations, regional
organizations and States and national human rights institutions;
189. Urges international
organizations, within their mandates, to contribute to the fight
against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance;
190. Encourages financial and
development institutions and the operational programmes and
specialized agencies of the United Nations, in accordance with their
regular budgets and the procedures of their governing bodies:
(a)To assign particular priority and
allocate sufficient funding, within their areas of competence and
budgets, to improve the situation of victims of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in order to combat
manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance, and to include them in the development and
implementation of projects concerning them;
(b)To integrate human rights principles
and standards into their policies and programmes;
(c)To consider including in their
regular reporting to their boards of governors information on their
contribution to promoting the participation of victims of racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance within
their programmes and activities, and information on the efforts taken
to facilitate such participation and to ensure that these policies
and practices contribute to the eradication of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
(d)To examine how their policies and
practices affect victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia
and related intolerance, and to ensure that these policies and
practices contribute to the eradication of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
191. (a)Calls upon States to
elaborate action plans in consultation with national human rights
institutions, other institutions created by law to combat racism, and
civil society and to provide the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights with such action plans and other relevant materials on
the measures undertaken in order to implement provisions of the
present Declaration and the Programme of Action;
(b)Requests the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights, in follow-up to the Conference,
to cooperate with five independent eminent experts, one from each
region, appointed by the Secretary-General from among candidates
proposed by the Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights, after
consultation with the regional groups, to follow the implementation
of the provisions of the Declaration and Programme of Action. An
annual progress report on the implementation of these provisions will
be presented by the High Commissioner to the Commission on Human
Rights and to the General Assembly, taking into account information
and views provided by States, relevant human rights treaty bodies,
special procedures and other mechanisms of the Commission on Human
Rights of the United Nations, international, regional and
non-governmental organizations and national human rights
institutions;
(c)Welcomes the intention of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to establish,
within the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, an
anti discrimination unit to combat racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and to promote
equality and non-discrimination, and invites her to consider the
inclusion in its mandate of, inter alia, the compilation of
information on racial discrimination and its development, and on
legal and administrative support and advice to victims of racial
discrimination and the collection of background materials provided by
States, international, regional and non-governmental organizations
and national human rights institutions under the follow-up mechanism
of the Conference;
(d)Recommends that the Office of
the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in cooperation with States,
international, regional and non-governmental organizations and
national human rights institutions, create a database containing
information on practical means to address racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, particularly
international and regional instruments and national legislation,
including anti-discrimination legislation, as well as legal means to
combat racial discrimination; remedies available through
international mechanisms to victims of racial discrimination, as well
as national remedies; educational and preventive programmes
implemented in various countries and regions; best practices to
address racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance; opportunities for technical cooperation; and academic
studies and specialized documents; and ensure that such a database is
as accessible as possible to those in authority and the public at
large, through its Web site and by other appropriate means;
192. Invites the United Nations
and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization to continue to organize high level and other
meetings on the Dialogue among Civilizations and, for this purpose,
to mobilize funds and promote partnerships;
Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights
193. Encourages the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue and expand the
appointment and designation of goodwill ambassadors in all countries
of the world in order, inter alia, to promote respect for
human rights and a culture of tolerance and to increase the level of
awareness about the scourge of racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance;
194. Calls upon the Office of
the High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue its efforts
further to increase awareness of the work of the Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the other United Nations
human rights treaty bodies;
195. Invites the Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights, in consultation with the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and
non governmental organizations active in the field of the
promotion and protection of human rights, to undertake regular
consultations with them and to encourage research activities aimed at
collecting, maintaining and adapting the technical, scientific,
educational and information materials produced by all cultures around
the world to fight racism;
196. Requests the Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights to pay special attention to
violations of the human rights of victims of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, in particular
migrants, including migrant workers, to promote international
cooperation in combating xenophobia and, to this end, to develop
programmes which can be implemented in countries on the basis of
appropriate cooperation agreements;
197. Invites States to assist
the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in developing
and funding, upon the request of States, specific technical
cooperation projects aimed at combating racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
198. (a)Invites the Commission
on Human Rights to include in the mandates of the special rapporteurs
and working groups of the Commission, in particular the Special
Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance, recommendations that they
consider the relevant provisions of the Declaration and the Programme
of Action while exercising their mandates, in particular reporting to
the General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights, and
also to consider any other appropriate means to follow up on the
outcome on the Conference;
(b)Calls upon States to
cooperate with the relevant special procedures of the Commission on
Human Rights and other mechanisms of the United Nations in matters
pertaining to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance, in particular with the special rapporteurs, independent
experts and special representatives;
199. Recommends that the
Commission on Human Rights prepare complementary international
standards to strengthen and update international instruments against
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in
all their aspects;
Decades
200. Urges States and the
international community to support the activities of the Third Decade
to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination;
201. Recommends that the General
Assembly consider declaring a United Nations year or decade against
trafficking in persons, especially in women, youth and children, in
order to protect their dignity and human rights;
202. Urges States, in close
cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization, to promote the implementation of the
Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace and the
objectives of the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and
Non Violence for the Children of the World, which started in
2001, and invites the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization to contribute to these activities;
Indigenous peoples
203. Recommends that the United
Nations Secretary General conduct an evaluation of the results
of the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People
(1995 2004) and make recommendations concerning how to mark the
end of the Decade, including an appropriate follow up;
204. Requests States to ensure
adequate funding for the establishment of an operational framework
and a firm basis for the future development of the Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues within the United Nations system;
205. Urges States to cooperate
with the work of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people and requests the
Secretary General and the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights to ensure that the Special Rapporteur is provided
with all the necessary human, technical and financial resources to
fulfil his responsibilities;
206. Calls upon States to
conclude negotiations on and approve as soon as possible the text of
the draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, under
discussion by the working group of the Commission on Human Rights to
elaborate a draft declaration, in accordance with Commission
resolution 1995/32 of 3 March 1995;
207. Urges States, in the light
of the relationship between racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia
and related intolerance and poverty, marginality and social exclusion
of peoples and individuals at both the national and international
levels, to enhance their policies and measures to reduce income and
wealth inequalities and to take appropriate steps, individually and
through international cooperation, to promote and protect economic,
social and cultural rights on a non discriminatory basis;
208. Urges States and
international financial and development institutions to mitigate any
negative effects of globalization by examining, inter alia,
how their policies and practices affect national populations in
general and indigenous peoples in particular; by ensuring that their
policies and practices contribute to the eradication of racism
through the participation of national populations and, in particular,
indigenous peoples in development projects; by further democratizing
international financial institutions; and by consulting with
indigenous peoples on any matter that may affect their physical,
spiritual or cultural integrity;
209. Invites financial and
development institutions and the operational programmes and
specialized agencies of the United Nations, in accordance with their
regular budgets and the procedures of their governing bodies:
(a)To assign particular priority to and
allocate sufficient funding, within their areas of competence, to the
improvement of the status of indigenous peoples, with special
attention to the needs of these populations in developing countries,
including the preparation of specific programmes with a view to
achieving the objectives of the International Decade of the World’s
Indigenous People;
(b)To carry out special projects,
through appropriate channels and in collaboration with indigenous
peoples, to support their initiatives at the community level and to
facilitate the exchange of information and technical know how
between indigenous peoples and experts in these areas;
Civil society
210. Calls upon States to
strengthen cooperation, develop partnerships and consult regularly
with non governmental organizations and all other sectors of the
civil society to harness their experience and expertise, thereby
contributing to the development of legislation, policies and other
governmental initiatives, as well as involving them more closely in
the elaboration and implementation of policies and programmes
designed to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance;
211. Urges leaders of religious
communities to continue to confront racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance through, inter alia,
promotion and sponsoring of dialogue and partnerships to bring about
reconciliation, healing and harmony within and among societies,
invites religious communities to participate in promoting economic
and social revitalization and encourages religious leaders to foster
greater cooperation and contact between diverse racial groups;
212. Urges States to establish
and strengthen effective partnerships with and provide support, as
appropriate, to all relevant actors of civil society, including
non governmental organizations working to promote gender
equality and the advancement of women, particularly women subject to
multiple discrimination, and to promote an integrated and holistic
approach to the elimination of all forms of discrimination against
women and girls;
Non-governmental organizations
213. Urges States to provide an
open and conducive environment to enable non governmental
organizations to function freely and openly within their societies
and thereby make an effective contribution to the elimination of
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
throughout the world, and to promote a wider role for grass roots
organizations;
214. Calls upon States to
explore means to expand the role of non governmental
organizations in society through, in particular, deepening the ties
of solidarity amongst citizens and promoting greater trust across
racial and social class divides by promoting wider citizen
involvement and more voluntary cooperation;
The private sector
215. Urges States to take
measures, including, where appropriate, legislative measures, to
ensure that transnational corporations and other foreign enterprises
operating within their national territories conform to precepts and
practices of non-racism and non-discrimination, and further
encourages the business sector, including transnational corporations
and foreign enterprises, to collaborate with trade unions and other
relevant sectors of civil society to develop voluntary codes of
conduct for all businesses, designed to prevent, address and
eradicate racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance;
Youth
216. Urges States to encourage
the full and active participation of, as well as involve more
closely, youth in the elaboration, planning and implementation of
activities to fight racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance, and calls upon States, in partnership with
non governmental organizations and other sectors of society, to
facilitate both national and international youth dialogue on racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, through
the World Youth Forum of the United Nations system and through the
use of new technologies, exchanges and other means;
217. Urges States to encourage
and facilitate the establishment and maintenance of youth mechanisms,
set up by youth organizations and young women and men themselves, in
the spirit of combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance, through such activities as: disseminating and
exchanging information and building networks to these ends;
organizing awareness-raising campaigns and participating in
multicultural education programmes; developing proposals and
solutions, where possible and appropriate; cooperating and consulting
regularly with non-governmental organizations and other actors in
civil society in developing initiatives and programmes that promote
intercultural exchange and dialogue;
218. Urges States, in
cooperation with intergovernmental organizations, the International
Olympic Committee and international and regional sports federations,
to intensify the fight against racism in sport by, among other
things, educating the youth of the world through sport practised
without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which
requires human understanding, tolerance, fair play and solidarity;
219. Recognizes that the success
of this Programme of Action will require political will and adequate
funding at the national, regional and international levels, and
international cooperation.
Notes
