Summary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action to Combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, 2002[*]
Prepared by the New Zealand Human Rights Commission
The Declaration
The Declaration canvassed relevant United Nations decisions and trends at the time, and noted that despite decades of effort the scourge of racism continued to influence events in many parts of the world. It addressed:- the sources, causes, forms and contemporary manifestations of racism;
- the victims of racism;
- measures of prevention, education and protection aimed at the eradication of racism;
- the provision of effective remedies, recourse, redress, and compensatory and other measures at the national, regional and international levels; and
- strategies to achieve full and effective equality, including international
cooperation and the enhancement of the United Nations and other international
mechanisms in combating racism
The Declaration recognised the urgent need to translate the stated objectives into a practical and workable programme of action.
The Programme of Action
The Programme of Action follows the headings of the Declaration. It contains a total of 219 recommendations, directed at states, non-government organisations, the private sector and international organisations. .
Victims of racism
The Programme identifies the following groups as particular targets of racism:
- Africans and people of African descent
- Indigenous peoples
- Migrants
- Refugees
- Others, including victims of trafficking, Roma/Gypsies/Sinti/Travellers,
people of Asian descent, national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities,
women and girls, children, people with disabilities and people suffering from
HIV/Aids.
In the New Zealand context the following groups (within which other categories are included) are of particular relevance:
- Māori, as the indigenous people
- Migrants, including the major Pacific and Asian migrant communities, temporary workers and international students
- Refugees
- Other ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities
Indigenous peoples
The Programme calls for appropriate measures to protect human rights, promote understanding of indigenous culture and heritage, encourage economic development, provide access to training, protect women and girls, review laws to identify and eradicate racism, honour treaties, support indigenous institutions, take actions to combat racism, promote understanding, undertake consultation and address the challenges of urbanisation.
Migrants
The Programme calls for measures to combat hostility to migrants, monitor and protect human rights, educate the public on the contribution of migrants, facilitate family reunification, review barriers to employment and deal with discrimination in the workplace, promote harmony and tolerance, review immigration laws to ensure compliance with human rights, promote cultural diversity and integration, observe the rights of migrants in places of detention, ensure proper treatment of migrants by police and immigration officers, recognise overseas qualifications, protect women and children from domestic violence, focus on the violation of the rights of women migrants, recognise equal economic opportunities and responsibilities and provide adequate social services including health, education and housing.
Refugees
The Programme calls for measures to ensure compliance with international obligations, address discrimination and protect the human rights of refugees, and protect refugee women and girls from violence.
Other ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities
The Programme calls for measures relating to a very wide range of groups and circumstances. Apart from actions specifically relating to Roma, Gypsies, Sinta and Travellers, the Programme calls for measures to ensure that all persons have the relevant identity documents, protect victims of trafficking, protect the human rights of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, ensure social inclusion and equal treatment of minority groups including in employment, housing, health care and education, focus on the rights of women from minority groups and their participation in decision making, undertake gender analysis of economic and social policies, empower women and girls, deal with sexual violence as a weapon of war and other crimes against humanity, protect children from racial discrimination, provide for registration of all children at birth, provide equal rights to nationality for men and women, and protect the human rights of people with disabilities.
Measures of prevention, education and protection
The Programme calls on states to adopt programmes that encourage citizens and institutions to take a stand against racism including partnerships between government and civil society, mainstream a gender perspectives in designing policies and programmes, adopt national programmes to eradicate poverty and reduce social exclusion, ensure the political and legal system reflect multicultural diversity, address racism against women and girls, encourage the tourism industry and internet providers to develop codes of conduct to prevent trafficking and to protect victims of trafficking, strengthen measures to prevent trafficking of women and girls and provide for their healing and rehabilitation, and address issues of international displacement.
Legislative, judicial, regulatory, administrative and other measures
This section calls for national policies and plans of action to combat racism, and suggests actions to address issues of exploitation of migrant workers, racism and racial discrimination in public life, trafficking in persons, inequality of individuals and groups, misconduct by police and other law enforcement personnel, racial profiling by police, the use of genetic research to promote racism, lack of diversity in the police force, and means of reducing racial violence.
Ratification and effective implementation of international instruments
The Programme of Action lists 13 international instruments which it urges states to ratify or accede to, if they have not already done so, and calls on states to give due consideration to the observations and recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Prosecution of perpetrators of racist acts
The Programme calls on States to combat criminal acts motivated by racism and to treat such motivations as an aggravating factor in sentencing, to promote measures to deter the emergence of and to counter neo-fascist, violent nationalist ideologies which promote racial hatred and discrimination, to criminalise all forms of trafficking, prosecute unlawful acts of racism and to provide training to those in the criminal justice system to ensure fair and impartial application of the law.
Independent specialised national institutions and mediation
States are urged to establish, strengthen review and reinforce the effectiveness of independent national human rights institutions, particularly on issues of racism, and to ensure adequate financial resources, competence and capacity for investigation, research, education, public awareness and accessibility.
Data collection and disaggregation, research and study
The Programme calls on states to collect, analyse, disseminate and publish reliable statistical data on racism and racial discrimination, with the objective of monitoring the situation of marginalised groups. The information should take into account economic and social indicators including health and health status, infant and maternal mortality, life expectancy, literacy, education, employment, housing, land ownership, mental and physical health care, water, sanitation, energy and communications services, poverty and average disposable income in order to elaborate social and economic development policies with a view to closing the existing gaps in social and economic conditions. It also calls for long term studies on all phases and aspects of migration which deal effectively with both its causes and manifestations.
Action oriented policies and action plans
The Programme encourages states to develop an elaborate national action plan to promote diversity, equality, equity, social justice, equality of opportunity and the participation of all. These plans should aim at creating conditions for all to participate effectively in decision making and realise civil, cultural, economic and social rights in all spheres of life on the basis of non-discrimination. States are urged to establish, on the basis of statistical information, national programmes, including affirmative or positive measures, to promote access by affected individuals and groups.
Employment
The Programme calls for the creation of workplaces free of discrimination through a multifaceted strategy that includes civil rights enforcement, public education and communication within the workplace, and to promote the rights of workers who are subject to racism and racial discrimination. It also calls for states, non-governmental organisations and the private sector to foster businesses in disadvantaged areas, and to improve the prospect of targeted groups facing the greatest obstacles in finding, keeping or regaining work, including skilled employment.
Health, environment
The Programme calls on states to enhance measures to fulfil the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, with a view to eliminating disparities in health status which might result from racism and racial discrimination. It calls on governments, non-government organisations and the private sector to take steps to ensure equal access to comprehensive, quality health care affordable for all, including primary health care for medically underserved people, facilitating the training of a health workforce that is both diverse and motivated to work in underserved communities, and work to increase diversity in the health care profession by recruiting on merit and potential men and women from all groups, representing the diversity of their societies, for health care careers and by retaining them in the health care professions.
Equal participation in political, economic, social and cultural decision-making
The Programme urges States to promote effective and equal access of all members of the community, especially those who are victims of racism and racial discrimination, to the decision making process in society at all levels and in particular at the local level, and encourages the private sector to facilitate their effective participation in economic life.
Role of politicians and political parties
The programme underlines the key role that politicians and political parties can play in combating racism and calls on them to develop voluntary codes of conduct which include internal disciplinary measures for violations thereof, so their members refrain from public statements and actions that encourage or incite racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
Education and awareness-raising measures
The Programme urges states, working with other relevant bodies, to commit financial resources to anti-racism education and to media campaigns promoting the values of acceptance, tolerance, diversity and respect for the cultures of indigenous peoples within their national borders. In particular, states are encouraged to promote an accurate understanding of the histories and cultures of indigenous peoples.
Access to education without discrimination
The Programme calls for a commitment to ensuring access to education for all, including access to adults to lifelong learning and education, to take appropriate measures to eliminate obstacles to access, to measure and track the educational performance of disadvantaged children and young people, to support efforts to ensure safe school environments, and to provide financial assistance programmes to enable all students to access higher education.
Human rights education
The Programme encourages states to support and implement public formal and non-formal education programmes designed to promote respect for cultural diversity and to counter racism and racial discrimination, to develop educational materials and to review textbooks and curricula to include human rights education and anti-racism education.
Human rights education for children and youth
The Programme urges states to introduce and reinforce anti-discrimination and anti-racism components in human rights programmes in school curricula and to develop and improve relevant educational material, including history and other textbooks, and to ensure that teachers are effectively trained and adequately motivated to shape behavioural patterns based on the principles of non-discrimination, mutual respect and tolerance. It also calls for activities aimed at educating young people in human rights and democratic citizenship, and to counter ideologies based on the fallacious theory of racial superiority. States are encouraged to support extracurricular activities to raise awareness, including observation of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (21 March).
Human rights education for public officials and professionals
The Programme calls for a range of actions to develop and strengthen anti-racist and gender-sensitive human rights training for public officials, including those involved in law enforcement, correctional and security services, health-care, schools and migration authorities, and in local government.
Information, communication and the media, including new technologies
The Programme recognises both the positive contribution that media can make to good race relations, and the negative aspects of unfair portrayal of ethnic minorities and the reinforcement of stereotypes. There is a particular focus on the new information technologies, and the dissemination of hate speech and racist material though the internet. The Programme calls for programmes that reflect different cultures and languages and for a voluntary code of ethics for media aimed at combating racism and notions of racial superiority, promoting the equitable representation of diverse groups in their medium and on their staff, promoting respect and tolerance through support of public awareness campaigns, avoiding stereotyping and encouraging the objective and balanced portrayal of people, events and history. The Programme also calls on internet providers to develop voluntary codes of conduct and Government action to counter racism and xenophobia on the internet. It also notes disparities in access to the internet.
International
The Programme contains a wide range of recommendations in relation to the international sphere, covering a very broad range of issues. These are not addressed in this paper, but are a useful reference point in measuring New Zealand’s contribution to international efforts to combat racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia.
Provision of effective remedies, recourse, redress
Legal Assistance
The Programme calls on state s to ensure that victims of racism to have full access to information, support, protection, remedies and legal assistance.
National legislation and programmes
The Programme recommends that states should specifically prohibit racial discrimination and provide remedies and redress through the designation of national, independent, specialised bodies. It encourages new and innovative methods of conflict resolution, mediation and conciliation and restorative justice policies and programmes.
Remedies, reparations, compensation
States are urged to provide effective and adequate remedies for victims of racial discrimination from competent national tribunals
Strategies to achieve full and effective equality
Much of this section relates to international cooperation, and enhancement of the United Nations and other international mechanisms to combat racial discrimination. It also encourages states to recognise the challenges of cultural diversity, protect the national or ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity of minorities, and to adopt and implement social development policies to close the gaps in living conditions faced by victims of racial discrimination in relation to the illiteracy rate, universal primary education, infant mortality, under-five mortality, health, reproductive health care for all and access to safe drinking water.
[*] This document originally appeared as Appendix 1 of New Zealand Follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, available at http://www.hrc.co.nz/hrc_new/hrc/cms/files/documents/13-Oct-2008_16-04-58_The_Durban_Declaration_and_Action_Programme_on_Racism_Update_2008__2_.doc
