General Assembly: Commemorative Meeting to Mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, 77th session

Theme: "The urgency of combating racism and racial discrimination 75 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights".

• Categories: Meetings & Events / General Assembly
• Video Length: 01:53:45
• Production Date: 21 March 2023
• Asset Language: Arabic; Chinese; English; French; Original; Russian; Spanish
• Personal Subject: GUTERRES, ANTONIO; KŐRÖSI, CSABA
• Corporate Name: COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION - CERD
• Subject Topical: HUMAN RIGHTS; INTERNATIONAL DAYS; RACIAL DISCRIMINATION; RACISM; XENOPHOBIA
• MAMS Id: 3023279
• Parent Id: 3022168

Description

Speakers urged greater action to end long-standing inequalities affecting many groups worldwide due to the legacy of colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade, as the General Assembly commemorated the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The Day is observed annually on 21 March, the date of the 1960 massacre in Sharpeville, South Africa.

António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, stressed that racial discrimination continues to ruin lives, marginalize communities and limit opportunities, preventing billions from achieving their full potential. nbsp;As the world marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, it is still far from realizing universal equality in dignity and rights. nbsp;Xenophobia and hate speech are on the rise, political leaders scapegoat migrants and white supremacist influencers profit from racism on social media platforms.

Csaba Kőrösi (Hungary), President of the General Assembly, said that racism adapts and mutates to different times and contexts, but the breadth of its harm remains intact. nbsp;

Verene A. Shepherd, Vice-Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, said systemic or structural racism impedes the advancement of marginalized populations, warning that failure to hold perpetrators of police brutality accountable “carries the message of impunity and drives away trust in officials and institutions”. nbsp;

Ilze Brands Kehris, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, stressed that, to move towards a world free from racial discrimination, the international community must acknowledge its systemic nature, along with the fact that race is a social construct — an ideological attempt to legitimize domination.nbsp;

When the floor opened, speakers underscored the need for greater efforts to combat racial discrimination, xenophobia and any related intolerance, especially in cyberspace. nbsp;To this end, they called on the international community to listen to the voices of those who have experienced human rights violations and facilitate their access to reparatory justice.