From Rhetoric to Reality a Global Call for Concrete Action Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance

A/HRC/RES/57/25View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 9Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, follow-up to and implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, published in 2024.

What other versions does this mandate have?

12 versions · 2008–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/60/16

2025A/HRC/RES/60/16From rhetoric to reality a global call for concrete action against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance :LatestCompare with previous version
2024A/HRC/RES/57/25From rhetoric to reality a global call for concrete action against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance :Compare with previous version
2023A/HRC/RES/54/27From rhetoric to reality a global call for concrete action against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance :Compare with previous version
2022A/HRC/RES/51/32From rhetoric to reality a global call for concrete action against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance :Compare with previous version
2021A/HRC/RES/48/18From rhetoric to reality a global call for concrete action against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance :Compare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

7 topics

Anniversaries Anti-Discrimination Measures Criminal Justice People of African Descent Public Information Racial Discrimination Xenophobia

What does this mandate say?

42 operative paragraphs

Underscores the importance of political will and commitment to combat all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;

Underlines the imperative need for the full and effective implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action as the instructive outcome document of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance for combating the scourge of racism, including its contemporary and resurgent forms, some of which have regrettably taken violent forms, as well as of the programme of activities of the International Decade for People of African Descent for promoting equality and non-discrimination around the world;

Continues to be alarmed at the resurgent violent manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance precipitated by scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust and dangerous ideologies, such as white supremacy, as well as by extremist nationalist and populist ideologies, and underlines in this respect that human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person;

Stresses in this respect the need to also address stereotypes, stigmatization and identity-assignment based on race as essential in the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;

Encourages States to make the requisite declaration in accordance with article 14 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination recognizing the competence of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to receive and consider communications from individuals or groups of individuals within their jurisdiction under its complaints procedure;

Calls upon all States that have not yet done so to consider withdrawing their reservations to article 4 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and to articles 18, 19 and 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in line with paragraph 75 of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action;

Welcomes the renewal of the mandate of the International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement, and encourages States to continue to fully cooperate with the Expert Mechanism and to continue to implement the comprehensive set of measures to end systemic racism and address racial discrimination and human rights violations, notably by law enforcement, contained in the agenda of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights towards transformative change for racial justice and equality and follow-up reports, and the reports of the Expert Mechanism, and also the recommendations made by United Nations experts in this regard;

Calls upon States to comply with their obligations under international law to protect those standing up against racism, including human rights defenders, from being discredited, harassed, intimidated or subjected to increased surveillance, both within and outside the context of assemblies;

Takes note of the conclusions and recommendations made by the Ad Hoc Committee of the Human Rights Council on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which, at its fourteenth session, continued its discussions on the elaboration of a draft additional protocol to the Convention;

Decides that the Chair-Rapporteur of the Ad Hoc Committee may request that the annual session of the Ad Hoc Committee be split into two one-week segments;

Requests the High Commissioner, in the further fulfilment of the mandate of the Ad Hoc Committee, to engage with the group of six legal experts, representing different regions and legal systems, and to task them to continue to provide the Chair-Rapporteur with more developed inputs and precise legal advice, to allow for the preparation of the Chair-Rapporteur’s document, in accordance with the Committee’s mandate;

Also requests the High Commissioner to facilitate the interactive participation of these legal experts in one of the two one-week segments of the fifteenth and sixteenth sessions of the Ad Hoc Committee, to be held in 2025 and 2026 respectively, and to task them with providing advice with a view to contributing to discussions on the elaboration of a draft additional protocol criminalizing acts of a racist and xenophobic nature, in order to implement the Committee’s mandate;

Requests the Chair-Rapporteur of the Ad Hoc Committee to present in person a progress report to the General Assembly at its eightieth session, and to participate in the interactive dialogue and carry out consultations with New York-based delegations and stakeholders in order to continue progress in the elaboration of complementary standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, filling procedural and substantive gaps as a matter of urgency, necessity and priority;

Notes the ongoing work on the draft United Nations declaration on the promotion and full respect of the human rights of people of African descent by the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action at its twenty-first and twenty-second sessions;

Requests the High Commissioner to provide the Chair-Rapporteur of the Intergovernmental Working Group, in the fulfilment of its mandate to devote at least half of its session to the elaboration of a draft United Nations declaration on the promotion and full respect of the human rights of people of African descent, with legal expertise to allow for the preparation of the Chair-Rapporteur’s document to facilitate the discussions of the Working Group at its annual sessions until the finalization of the draft declaration;

Requests the Intergovernmental Working Group to continue to invite the chairs of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent and the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent to all its sessions devoted to discussions on the draft United Nations declaration on the promotion and full respect of the human rights of people of African descent;

Takes note of the report of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, and recalls the important work that it has carried out in the 20 years since its establishment, including its conclusions and recommendations on how to address more efficiently the human rights concerns of people of African descent;

Takes note of the conclusions and recommendations made by the Group of Independent Eminent Experts on the Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action at its eighth, ninth and tenth sessions;

Reiterates its decision to request the Group of Independent Eminent Experts to report annually on its session and activities to the Human Rights Council, and that its report will be also transmitted and presented to the General Assembly, and in this regard requests the Chair of the Group to engage in an interactive dialogue with the Assembly under the agenda item entitled “Elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance”;

Also reiterates its request to the five regional groups to nominate a candidate for appointment to the Group of Independent Eminent Experts in a timely fashion, thereby ensuring that the Group can fulfil its mandate;

Requests the United Nations system to strengthen its awareness-raising campaigns to increase the visibility of the message of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, its follow-up mechanisms and the work of the United Nations in the fight against racism;

Requests the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner to provide the financial and human resources necessary for the Group of Independent Eminent Experts to fulfil its mandate effectively;

Proposes that particular attention be given by all relevant actors to enhancing the contribution of the treaty bodies monitoring the implementation of the core human rights conventions to the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, including through a systemic approach leading to more intensive cooperation among them;

Deplores the ongoing use of social media platforms to incite hatred and violence against, inter alia, migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers, while reaffirming the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, and calls upon States to prohibit by law, as appropriate, any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, including that propagated in information and communications technology;

Strongly condemns the allegations of discriminatory treatment, unlawful deportations, excessive use of force against and deaths of African migrants and migrants of African descent, including refugees and asylum-seekers, at the hands of law enforcement officials engaged in migration and border governance in different countries;

Calls upon States to ensure proper accountability measures and reparations for human rights violations at their borders and to adopt a racial justice approach, including by adopting policies to address structural racism in the management of international migration flows;

Welcomes the convening of regional meetings organized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to effectively implement the programme of activities of the International Decade for People of African Descent, and notes the contribution of the International Decade to increasing awareness of the vulnerable situation of people of African descent;

Encourages States and other stakeholders to adopt action-orientated recommendations at these regional meetings, calls upon States, regional organizations and other stakeholders to facilitate the participation of civil society from their respective countries and regions at the meetings, and recognizes the contributing role that national human rights institutions and civil society organizations can play in supporting States’ measures to prevent and eliminate all forms of racial discrimination;

Acknowledges the progress made during the first International Decade for People of African Descent, while regretting that the programme of activities for the International Decade was not fully implemented in relation to recognition, justice and development;

Encourages the General Assembly to proclaim, as a result of the above-mentioned gaps in implementation, a second International Decade for People of African Descent, commencing in 2025, based on the full reaffirmation and implementation of the programme of activities of the first International Decade, and focusing on consolidating past gains, expanding the reach and scope of contemporary opportunities for development, inclusion and peace, and anticipating emerging risks and threats;

Welcomes the convening of the third session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent and the large participation of civil society and people of African descent from around the world during the session;

Takes note of decision 884 (XXXVII) of 18 February 2024 of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, in which the Assembly adopted the theme “Justice for Africans and people of African descent through reparations” for 2025, and of the 10-point plan for reparatory justice of the Caribbean Community, which delves into the reparations due to Africans, on the continent and in the diaspora, and addresses the harm caused by the transatlantic slave trade, slavery, colonialism and neo-colonialism;

Reiterates its request that the Office of the High Commissioner extend the two-year comprehensive communications strategy requested by the Human Rights Council in paragraph 17 of its resolution 48/18 of 11 October 2021 until the end of 2025, to continue to raise awareness about and mobilize global public support for racial justice and equality and the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; the strategy should include the effective promotion of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Decade for People of African Descent and other relevant instruments, and publicize the work and activities of the different United Nations anti-racism mechanisms, including the dissemination of the annual thematic reports of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent and its 20-year review report, in accessible formats to all constituents and the general public; the strategy should also include engagement, at different levels, with United Nations information centres and the field presences of the Office of the High Commissioner, civil society organizations, universities, schools and other educational entities, media outlets and professionals, and the general public, in particular young people; the strategy should be deployed on diverse platforms, including social media and web-based platforms, and encompass a variety of formats, such as digital and printed products, including easily accessible and youth-friendly materials, in all official languages of the United Nations; and requests the Secretary-General to provide the resources necessary for the communication strategy;

Requests the Intergovernmental Working Group to commence preparations for the high-level event, to be held in 2026, to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, including public outreach for the commemoration, and to submit a comprehensive report and a road map for the implementation of the holding of the commemorative event to the Human Rights Council at its sixtieth session and the General Assembly at its eightieth session;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to implement fully, as a matter of priority, the request made by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 51/32 of 7 October 2022 to publish the programme of activities for the International Decade for People of African Descent in an easily accessible brochure format in all official languages of the United Nations, for wide dissemination, and invites States to publish translations thereof;

Also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to implement fully, as a matter of priority, the request made by the Human Rights Council, also in its resolution 51/32, to publish an updated version of United against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, containing also the political declaration made by the General Assembly on the occasion of the commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, and to issue it in all official languages of the United Nations, for wide dissemination;

Further requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a report, to be made available in accessible formats, on the implementation of the request reiterated by the Human Rights Council in paragraph 33 above pursuant to its resolution 48/18 and in paragraph 37 of its resolution 54/27 of 12 October 2023, and of the outreach programme of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, its follow-up mechanisms and the work of the United Nations in the fight against racism, and to present the report to the Council at its sixtieth session;

Requests that the commemoration of the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, on 25 March, and the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, on 23 August, be included in the communications strategy and outreach programme;

Encourages all special procedures of the Human Rights Council and the treaty bodies to include consideration of the impact of systemic, structural and institutional racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other related intolerance on their mandates in their reports;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner, States and other stakeholders to include in their annual updates to the Intergovernmental Working Group information on the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, including on the activities conducted in the context of the outreach programme, and also requests the Office to include information on the implementation of the communications strategy in the annual report of the Secretary-General to the General Assembly on global efforts in the fight against racism;

Requests the High Commissioner to continue to provide the resources necessary for the effective functioning of Durban follow-up mechanisms, and to give high priority to the issue of preventing and combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in the work of the Office of the High Commissioner;

Decides to remain seized of this important issue.

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