Agenda Item 9: Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, follow-up to and implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action 

Statement by: International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (EAFORD)

9 July 2019

Thank you, Mr. President.

We are deeply concerned about the minimal efforts that are being put into implementing the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, and we also regret the alarming human rights violations in the extractivism economy.

Global extractivism is direct linked to colonial domination, which has reinforced racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance around the globe. Regrettably, the persistence of these attitudes continues to contribute to social and economic inequalities even today, especially towards indigenous peoples and communities of African descendent.

Extractivist projects can threaten the very physical and cultural existence of these groups by severely violating their rights to health and life due to devastating environmental impacts. We therefore would like to remind this Council that the DDPA recognises and strongly condemns the suffering caused by colonialism, and we believe effective measures should be taken to prevent its reoccurrence.  

Mr. President,

EAFORD and Geneva International Centre for Justice call upon States and transnational corporations to anchor governance, oversight and evaluation of the extractivism economy in the principles of sovereign equality, the right to self-determination and the right to development. And finally, we highly recommend states to support, adopt and fully implement the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.

Thank you.

Justice, Human rights, Geneva, geneva4justice, GICJ, Geneva International Centre For Justice