78 countries call for early implementation of UN anti-racism declaration

Seventy-eight countries called on Thursday for speeding up the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) and putting an end to discrimination, racism, and xenophobia.

The countries expressed deep alarm at racial discrimination, social prejudice, police brutality and social inequality in a joint statement.

Noting that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the DDPA, the statement reaffirmed that "the global fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and all their abhorrent and evolving forms and manifestations should remain a matter of priority for the international community."

"It is the time for all states and all stakeholders to seize the opportunity to take concrete measures to accelerate momentum for the implementation of the DDPA and combat all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance," it said.

Stressing that all human beings are born free, equal in dignity and rights and have the potential to contribute constructively to their societies, the statement said, "Any doctrine of racial superiority is scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust and dangerous, and must be rejected."

However, the scourge of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance still persists all over the world, and countless human beings continue to fall victim to this scourge due to the persistent gaps in implementation of the DDPA, it said.

"Africans and people of African descent, Asians and people of Asian descent and indigenous peoples have long been suffering from systemic racism, racial discrimination and hate crime," the statement said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, "misinformation, disinformation, hate speech and racist remarks made by political and public figures have led to a surge of discrimination and hate crime against Africans and people of African descent and Asians and people of Asian descent, especially women, children and the elders," it noted.

"It is the time for all to make a real and transformative change. We cannot let our future generations continue to suffer from the brutality of racism and racial discrimination," said the statement.