UNRIC Library Backgrounder: Racism and Racial Discrimination

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UN Entities

• United Nations – Fight Racism: https://www.un.org/en/fight-racism
• Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: OHCHR and Racism
  https://www.ohchr.org/en/racism
  • Racism, discrimination are legacies of colonialism (17 October 2023): https://www.ohchr.org/en/get-involved/stories/racism-discrimination-are-legacies-colonialism
• Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: https://www.ohchr.org/en/treaty-bodies/cerd
• Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance: https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-racism
• Ad-hoc Committee on the elaboration of complementary standards: https://www.ohchr.org/en/hrc-subsidiaries/adhoc-committee-on-complementary-standards-to-icerd
• Group of Independent Eminent Experts on the Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action: https://www.ohchr.org/en/chr-subsidiaries/group-of-experts-on-ddpa
• Intergovernmental Working Group on the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action: https://www.ohchr.org/en/hrc-subsidiaries/iwg-on-durban
• Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement
  https://www.ohchr.org/en/hrc-subsidiaries/expert-mechanism-racial-justice-law-enforcement
• Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent: https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/wg-african-descent
• Permanent Forum on People of African Descent: https://www.ohchr.org/en/permanent-forum-people-african-descent
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) – Fight against Racism & Discrimination: https://www.unesco.org/en/no-racism-no-discrimination

Treaties, Declarations and UN Documents

• International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination: https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-convention-elimination-all-forms-racial
  • Background information in the Audiovisual Library of International Law: https://legal.un.org/avl/ha/cerd/cerd.html
    https://legal.un.org/avl/ls/Sicilianos_HR.html
• Report of the Durban Review Conference: https://undocs.org/A/CONF.211/8
• Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (World Conference against Racism, 2001): https://undocs.org/A/CONF.189/12

Databases

• Anti-discrimination database – OHCHR’s Database on practical means to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance:
  https://adsdatabase.ohchr.org/SitePages/Anti-discrimination%20database.aspx

UN Conferences and Observances

• 21 March – International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination:
  https://www.un.org/en/observances/end-racism-day
• 20 July – International Day of Women and Girls of African Descent
• 31 August – International Day for People of African Descent: https://www.un.org/en/observances/african-descent-day
• 2025–2034: Second International Decade for People of African Descent
• 2015–2024: International Decade for People of African Descent:
  https://www.un.org/en/observances/decade-people-african-descent
• 2011 – International Year for People of African Descent:
  https://www.un.org/en/events/iypad2011/
• Stand up for human rights – Fight racism: https://www.standup4humanrights.org/
• Global Forum against Racism and Discrimination 2022: https://www.unesco.org/en/forum-against-racism-discrimination
• International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination:
  50 years of fighting racism (Celebration Event – 26 November 2015): https://www.ohchr.org/en/treaty-bodies/cerd/international-convention-elimination-all-forms-racial-discrimination-50-years-fighting-racism
• 10^th Anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action – General Assembly High-Level Meeting, 22 September 2011:
  https://www.un.org/en/ga/durbanmeeting2011/
• Durban Review Conference, Geneva, 20 – 24 April 2009:
  https://www.un.org/en/durbanreview2009/
• World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, Durban (2001):
  https://www.un.org/WCAR/
• United Nations – Key conference outcomes on racism:
  https://www.un.org/en/development/devagenda/racism.shtml

Further information

• UN News Centre on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: https://news.un.org/en/tags/elimination-racial-discrimination
  • Citing ‘weight of history’, senior UN officials of African descent issue call
    to ‘go beyond and do more’ to end racism (14 June 2020): https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/06/1066242
• UN News Centre on Hate Speech: https://news.un.org/en/tags/hate-speech
• United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech: https://www.un.org/en/hate-speech/un-strategy-and-plan-of-action-on-hate-speech
• UNRIC Library Backgrounder: Combat Misinformation – Selected Online Resources on Misinformation, Disinformation and Hate Speech: https://unric.org/en/unric-library-backgrounder-combat-misinformation/

Selected Statements and Speeches of the Secretary-General

• Stressing ‘poison of racism’ persists worldwide, Secretary-General Observance Message urges action to make International Convention to eliminate scourge a reality (SG/SM/22581, 12 March 2025): https://press.un.org/en/2025/sgsm22581.doc.htm
• Let us commit to building world of dignity, justice, equal opportunity, stresses Secretary-General, in Message marking Day for Eliminating Racial Discrimination (SG/SM/22165, 18 March 2024): https://press.un.org/en/2024/sgsm22165.doc.htm
• On International Day, Secretary-General calls racism ‘one of the most destructive forces dividing societies’, urges everyone to take action against scourge (21 March 2023, SG/SM/21734): https://press.un.org/en/2023/sgsm21734.doc.htm
• Marking International Day on Eliminating Racial Discrimination, Secretary-General urges General Assembly to turn Universal Declaration into reality for all people (SG/SM/21735, 21 March 2023): https://press.un.org/en/2023/sgsm21735.doc.htm
• Shared values of human rights, religious freedom, solidarity ‘a road map’ to combat racism, Secretary-General tells Appeal of Conscience (SG/SM/21465, 20 September 2022): https://press.un.org/en/2022/sgsm21465.doc.htm
• International Day for Eliminating Racial Discrimination ‘an urgent call to action’ towards united world free of hate, Secretary-General tells General Assembly (SG/SM/21189, 18 March 2022): https://press.un.org/en/2022/sgsm21189.doc.htm
• Building just future requires mending unjust past, Secretary-General says in Message to mark Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination (SG/SM/21186, 17 March 2022): https://press.un.org/en/2022/sgsm21186.doc.htm
• Secretary-General, on Day to Remember Slavery Victims, stresses crucial need for resistance stories in understanding past, as blight of racism persists (SG/SM/21180, 14 March 2022): https://press.un.org/en/2022/sgsm21180.doc.htm

Selection of Publications available online

• Fighting against Racism and Discrimination: A UNESCO Toolkit (12 January 2024): https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000387454
• Toolkit: Ratifying the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) (13 September 2023): https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/tools-and-resources/toolkit-ratifying-international-convention-elimination-all-forms
• Guidance on Racism and Xenophobia: How UNHCR can address and respond to situations of racism and xenophobia affecting persons under its mandate (February 2023): https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/98475
• Building a UNESCO Roadmap against Racism and Discrimination(2023): https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000386532
• Racial Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities in the COVID-19 Crisis (OHCHR, 29 April 2020): https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Minorities/
  UN_Network_Racial_Discrimination_Minorities_COVID.pdf
• Colour? What colour? Report on the fight against discrimination and racism in football (UNESCO, February 2016): https://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002357/235721e.pdf
• Developing National Action Plans against Racial Discrimination: a practical guide (OHCHR, 2013): https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/HR-PUB-13-03.pdf
• Selected Decisions of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination,
  Volume 1: Thirty-sixth to seventy-fifth sessions (August 1988 – August 2011)
  https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/CERDSelectedDecisionsVolume1.pdf
• Dimensions of Racism: Proceedings of a Workshop to commemorate the end of the United Nations Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (2005): https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/DimensionsRacismen.pdf
• United to Combat Racism: Equality, Justice, Dignity (2001): https://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001233/123354e.pdf
• The Struggle Against Discrimination: A Collection of International Instruments adopted by the United Nations System (1996): https://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001060/106049e.pdf

12 March 2025
not an official document – for information only
https://unric.org/en/unric-library-backgrounder-racism/