A/RES/68/151 GA

United Nations A/RES/68/151 General Assembly Distr.: General 14 February 2014 Sixty-eighth session Agenda item 67 (a) 13-44851 (E) *1344851* Please recycle Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 18 December 2013 [on the report of the Third Committee (A/68/454)] 68/151. Global efforts for the total elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action The General Assembly, Recalling all its previous resolutions on the comprehensive follow-up to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance and the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference, 1 and in this regard underlining the imperative need for their full and effective implementation, Stressing that the outcome of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance has the same status as the outcomes of all the major United Nations conferences, summits and special sessions in the human rights and social fields, Recalling the three Decades for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination previously declared by the General Assembly, and regretting that the Programmes of Action for those Decades were not fully implemented and that their objectives are yet to be attained, Reiterating that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and have the potential to contribute constructively to the development and well-being of their societies, and that any doctrine of racial superiority is scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust and dangerous and must be rejected, together with theories that attempt to determine the existence of separate human races, Underlining the intensity, magnitude and organized nature of slavery and the slave trade, including the transatlantic slave trade, and the associated historical injustices, as well as the untold suffering caused by colonialism and apartheid, and that Africans and people of African descent, Asians and people of Asian descent and indigenous peoples continue to be victims of the cascading effects of those legacies, _______________ 1 See A/CONF.189/12 and Corr.1, chap. I. A/RES/68/151 Global efforts for the total elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action 2/6 Acknowledging the efforts and initiatives undertaken by States to prohibit discrimination and segregation and to engender the full enjoyment of economic, social and cultural as well as civil and political rights, Emphasizing that, despite efforts in this regard, millions of human beings continue to be victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, including their contemporary manifestations, some of which take violent forms, Welcoming the efforts made by civil society in support of the follow-up mechanisms in the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, Recalling the appointment of the five independent eminent experts on 16 June 2003 by the Secretary-General, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 56/266 of 27 March 2002, with the mandate to follow up on the implementation of the provisions of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and to make appropriate recommendations thereon, Underlining the primacy of the political will, international cooperation and adequate funding at the national, regional and international levels needed to address all forms and manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance for the successful implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, Recalling its resolution 2142 (XXI) of 26 October 1966 by which the General Assembly proclaimed 21 March as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Recognizing and affirming that the global fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and all their abhorrent and contemporary forms and manifestations is a matter of priority for the international community, I International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination 1. Reaffirms the paramount importance of universal adherence to and full and effective implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 2 adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 2106 A (XX) of 21 December 1965, in addressing the scourges of racism and racial discrimination; 2. Expresses grave concern that universal ratification of the Convention has not yet been reached, despite commitments under the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action,1 and calls upon those States that have not done so to accede to the Convention as a matter of urgency; 3. Underlines, in the above context, that the provisions of the Convention do not respond effectively to contemporary manifestations of racial discrimination, in particular in relation to xenophobia and related intolerance, which is recognized _______________ 2 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 660, No. 9464. Global efforts for the total elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action A/RES/68/151 3/6 as the rationale behind the convening of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in 2001; 4. Takes note of the acknowledgement by the Human Rights Council and its subsidiary structures of the existence of both procedural and substantive gaps in the aforementioned Convention, which must be filled as a matter of urgency, necessity and priority; 5. Invites the Human Rights Council, in conjunction with its Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, in the execution of its mandate, to continue to elaborate complementary standards in order to fill existing gaps in the Convention, as well as to elaborate new normative standards aimed at combating all forms of contemporary racism, thereby also covering such areas as xenophobia, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and incitement to national or ethnic and religious hatred; II International Decade for People of African Descent 6. Applauds the work undertaken by the Human Rights Council and, in particular, the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, during the past 10 years, which culminated in the finalization of the draft programme of action for the International Decade for People of African Descent; 7. Looks forward to the proclamation of the International Decade for People of African Descent during its sixty-eighth session;3 8. Acknowledges the guidance and the effective leadership role demonstrated by the Human Rights Council, as well as by United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, with respect to the promotion and protection of the rights of people of African descent, including the restoration of their dignity and the imperative need for their equal treatment in the societies in which they live, and in this regard requests the Council to continue overseeing and guiding the implementation of the activities of the International Decade for People of African Descent; 9. Requests the Chair of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent to make a report on its work available to the General Assembly, and in this regard invites the Chair of the Working Group to engage in an interactive dialogue with the Assembly under the item entitled, “Elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance” at its sixty-ninth session; III Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 10. Recalls paragraph 1 of Human Rights Council resolution 6/22 of 28 September 2007, 4 and calls upon the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to implement the realignment envisaged therein as a matter of _______________ 3 See resolution 68/237. 4 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-third Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/63/53), chap. I, sect. A. A/RES/68/151 Global efforts for the total elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action 4/6 urgency, including providing progress reports in this regard to the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session; 11. Regrets that the High Commissioner omitted to include the historic and landmark World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance of 2001 among the twenty major achievements of her Office since the adoption of the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action;5 12. Commends the High Commissioner for convening a special event on 21 March 2013 in commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and in particular for bringing together eminent sports personalities to share their experiences of the dangers of racism in sport, in follow- up to the commemorative event held in 2012, which was addressed by an eminent personality, and encourages the High Commissioner to continue to highlight the issue of racism in sport; 13. Requests the Secretary-General and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to fully implement paragraphs 53 and 57 of General Assembly resolution 65/240 of 24 December 2010 with regard to the outreach programme for the follow-up to the commemoration of the 10-year anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action; 14. Also requests the Secretary-General and the Office of the High Commissioner to provide the resources necessary for the effective fulfilment of the mandates of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, the group of independent eminent experts on the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards; IV Group of independent eminent experts on the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action 15. Recalls the appointment by the Secretary-General, pursuant to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and its resolution 56/266, of five independent eminent experts, on 16 June 2003, with the mandate to follow up on the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and to make appropriate recommendations thereon, and in this regard requests the Secretary- General, in the context of that resolution, to revitalize and reactivate the operational activities of the group of independent eminent experts; 16. Invites the Human Rights Council to ensure the visibility, effective participation and optimal utilization of the vast knowledge and experience of the group of independent eminent experts within its subsidiary structures, charged with the mandate and responsibility for the comprehensive follow-up to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance and the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action; _______________ 5 A/CONF.157/24 (Part I), chap. III. Global efforts for the total elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action A/RES/68/151 5/6 V Trust Fund for the Programme for the Decade for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination 17. Recalls the establishment by the Secretary-General, in 1973, of the Trust Fund for the Programme for the Decade for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination as a funding mechanism that has been utilized for the implementation of the activities of the three Decades for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination declared by the General Assembly, and in this regard appreciates the fact that the Trust Fund has also been utilized for the subsequent programmes and operational activities transcending the three Decades; 18. Requests the Secretary-General to revitalize the Trust Fund prior to the twenty-fifth session of the Human Rights Council, for the purpose of ensuring the successful implementation of the activities of the International Decade for People of African Descent and enhancing the effectiveness of the comprehensive follow-up to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance and the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action; 19. Strongly appeals to all Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and individuals as well as other donors in a position to do so to contribute generously to the Trust Fund for the Programme for the Decade for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination, and to that end requests the Secretary-General to continue to undertake appropriate contacts and initiatives to encourage contributions; VI Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance 20. Takes note of the reports of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, 6 and encourages the Special Rapporteur, within his mandate, to continue focusing on the issues of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and incitement to hatred, which impede peaceful coexistence and harmony within societies, and to present reports in this regard to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly; 21. Reiterates the invitation to the Special Rapporteur to consider examining national models of mechanisms that measure racial equality and their added value in the eradication of racial discrimination and to report on such challenges, successes and best practices in his next report; VII Follow-up and implementation activities 22. Calls upon the Human Rights Council to develop and adopt a multi-year programme of activities to provide for the renewed and strengthened outreach activities needed to inform and mobilize the global public in support of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and to strengthen awareness of the _______________ 6 A/68/329 and A/68/333. A/RES/68/151 Global efforts for the total elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action 6/6 contribution it has made in the struggle against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; 23. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session a report on the implementation of the present resolution; 24. Requests the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Human Rights Council to convene special meetings of the Assembly and the Council during the commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and to hold a debate on the state of racial discrimination worldwide, with the participation of the Secretary-General, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, encouraging eminent personalities active in the field of racial discrimination, Member States and civil society organizations in accordance with the rules of procedure of the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, respectively; 25. Decides to remain seized of this priority matter at its sixty-ninth session under the item entitled “Elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance”. 70th plenary meeting 18 December 2013

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