Assistant Secretary-General Brands Kehris statement at General Assembly event marking the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

President of the General Assembly,
Mr. Secretary-General,
Honourable Mayor of New York City,
Excellencies,

It is a privilege to participate at this event, in honour of the victims of racism and racial discrimination of the past and the present.

Today is an opportunity to recall the origin and purpose of the establishment of the United Nations.

This Organization was founded in repudiation of, and to prevent, political systems based on ideologies of racial supremacy that had caused unimaginable human destruction and devastation.

To this end, the United Nations Charter enshrined “respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion” as one of its principal purposes.

Drawing on this mandate, the Economic and Social Council established the Commission on Human Rights and tasked it with the preparation of an “International bill of rights”.

The result was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - A “constitution for the whole of humanity” adopted by this Assembly 75 years ago. At its heart is article 2, pronouncing the principles of equality and non-discrimination as the basis for all other rights and freedoms.

And a foundation for peace.

The connection between the elimination of racial discrimination and prevention of conflict was manifested also by the fact that the first two binding human rights treaties were the Genocide Convention and the International Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Racial Discrimination.

The latter sets out that “discrimination between human beings on the grounds of race, colour or ethnic origin is an obstacle to friendly and peaceful relations among nations and is capable of disturbing peace and security among peoples and the harmony of persons living side by side even within one and the same State”.

And yet, racism and racial discrimination still abound today.

Excellencies,

Their manifestations take many different forms and shapes, direct and indirect.

We see it in the scourge of intersecting forms of discrimination.

Indigenous women, for instance, face exceptional impediments to the full enjoyment of their rights. They are disproportionately affected by the loss of lands, territories and resources due to climate change and the development of megaprojects.

Racial discrimination is also deeply structural, as endured daily by millions of people of African descent when faced with excessive use of force, racial profiling and other discriminatory practices by law enforcement agencies and other institutions.

Intersecting discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, language and age surfaced prominently during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has expressed alarm at the stigmatization, labeling, scapegoating and blaming for the spread of the virus that Asians and people of Asian descent have been victims of.

The pandemic also highlighted the digital divide and its negative impact on indigenous children, children of African descent and migrant children as education activities moved to the private sphere, depriving these children without access to internet of education for over a year.

Excellencies,

Why is racism still so prevalent, seventy-five years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration?

The reasons range from a lack of political will to the denial or ignorance of structural discrimination in institutions and society.  Racism persists because of fear, including of losing dominance and power, and has taken contemporary expression in the renewed rise of populism and xenophobia.

To move towards a world free from racial discrimination we must acknowledge its systemic nature and that race is a social construct, an ideological attempt to legitimize domination.

Our responsibility is to act now to effectively combat racism and racial discrimination. As part of our Human Rights 75 initiative, the High Commissioner for Human Rights has outlined five specific and urgent actions:

1. Adopt and implement comprehensive national laws and policies.
2. Establish and strengthen independent national human rights institutions and equality bodies.
3. Collect and publish data disaggregated by race, national or ethnic origin, sex, gender, age, migration status and other factors.
4. Ensure effective participation of racial and ethnic groups in public decision-making and evaluations.
5. Consider concrete action to confront past legacies of racial discrimination and deliver reparatory justice.

I appeal to all Governments and other actors to heed this call.

Mr. President,

There is no excuse for failure.

We have the tools and mechanisms to guide action.

In addition to the guidance provided by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, other UN treaty bodies and the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism and other special procedures, two new expert bodies established two years ago can also help chart the way forward.

The International Independent Expert Mechanism is mandated to advance racial justice and equality in the context of law enforcement. It has held consultations with States and affected individuals, issued communications on individual cases of concern and conducts country visits.

The Permanent Forum on People of African Descent is working, together with the Intergovernmental Working Group on the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and the Working Group of Experts on people of African descent, on the elaboration of a United Nations Declaration on the promotion, protection and full respect of the human rights of people of African descent.

In this context, I wish to stress the urgency to implement the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and its follow up processes. It remains an essential roadmap towards racial equality.

Excellencies,

No institution or society is immune from racism.

But every Government and every person has a responsibility to ensure that the arch of humanity bends towards justice, to paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

By rejecting racism and racial discrimination, we protect human dignity and contribute to peaceful coexistence among people and states by protecting pluralistic and diverse societies.

As the Call to Action for Human Rights reminds us: “Human diversity is an asset, not a threat”.

Let us mark this 75th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration by concrete action to honour everyone who have endured racism and by implementing the vision of the founders of this Organization.

Thank you.