"General Debate Item 9: Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, follow-up and implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action"
Statement by: International Organization for All Forms of Racial Discrimination (EAFORD)
1 October 2020
Thank you, Madam President.
It is unacceptable that racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerances continue to plague this world despite numerous commitments, initiatives, and legal documents in place to eradicate the scourge of racism. We believe that the DDPA is the most comprehensive UN document that can help end racism on multiple levels.
Therefore, in order to achieve effective promotion towards full implementation of the DDPA we strongly urge full support of the DDPA outreach program. Namely, through activation of UN information centres, wider dissemination of the DDPA in official and non-official UN languages, and engagement with education institutions at all levels. We also encourage strong collaboration with the youth, utilisation of news and social-media, and efficient international solidarity.
Madam President,
As we recall the request by the General Assembly to the UN Human Rights Council to develop a multi-year programme of activities to strengthen outreach and mobilize the global public to support the DDPA and combat racism - EAFORD and Geneva International Centre for Justice calls on this Council and all its members to take the appropriate and immediate initiatives towards the commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the DDPA.
Finally, we recommend this Council and its Member States to:
- urge the OHCHR to publish the programme of activities for the International Decade that is easily accessible and available in official languages of the UN for wide dissemination.
- And to convene next year a full day high-level intersessional meeting on mobilizing global support of the DDPA.
Thank you.
Justice, Human rights, Geneva, geneva4justice, GICJ, Geneva International Centre For Justice
