EU Statement – UN General Assembly 3rd Committee: Elimination of racism and racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
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Chair,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.
The Candidate Countries North Macedonia*, Montenegro*, Albania*, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina* and Georgia, align themselves with this statement.
Through the Pact for the Future the international community has reaffirmed its commitment to universal and indivisible human rights as the foundation for peaceful, just and inclusive societies. To realise this vision, we must redouble our efforts to confront and eliminate the persistent and corrosive effects of racism.
The EU unequivocally condemns all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance, including its contemporary forms. Racism not only inflicts profound harm on individual victims, but also weakens global efforts towards peace, security and sustainable development. The EU remains fully committed to addressing both the visible and invisible barriers that sustain racism, within our borders and around the world.
The fight against racism in the EU is grounded in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). This convention remains a living instrument for addressing longstanding and emerging challenges. Achieving universal adherence to the ICERD and encouraging its full and effective implementation worldwide should remain a priority for all.
The EU is fully committed to the primary objectives and commitments undertaken at the 2001 Durban World Conference to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. We welcome the programme of activities of the UN International Decade on People of African Descent and see the need for a second International Decade.
In the EU, the Racial Equality Directive prohibits all forms of racial or ethnic discrimination, whether direct or indirect, and mandates equality bodies in each Member State to ensure equal treatment. A Directive adopted this year sets EU-wide minimum standards for these bodies, ensuring that all citizens receive a common minimum level of protection. Since 2008, incitement to violence or hatred based on race, colour, religion, descent, or national or ethnic origin has been criminalised across the EU. The Digital Services Act requires online platforms to swiftly remove illegal hate speech, which is often rooted in racism. The Artificial Intelligence Act, adopted this year, bans harmful practices like social scoring, biometric categorisation by race and unauthorised facial recognition databases.
While the EU unequivocally prohibits all forms of discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin, we recognise that laws alone are not sufficient. The fight against racism requires sustained and coordinated action across all sectors of society. Recent reports published by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency demonstrate that we should do more. The latest update of the study “Being Black in the EU” shows that too many people in Europe continue to experience racial discrimination.
The EU Anti-Racism Action Plan 2020-2025 plays a crucial role in guiding our efforts for making our legal framework a reality. The plan places equality at the centre of all EU policy areas, with a focus on ensuring full and equal enjoyment of social, economic, and cultural rights. Education, employment, health, and housing are key areas. The EU Anti-Racism Coordinator continues to play an important role in making sure that anti-racism efforts are integrated across all policy areas and that civil society is actively engaged in shaping our policies.
The EU remains committed to working alongside the UN and has a long-standing practice of engaging actively and constructively in all racism-related initiatives, including the follow-up mechanisms to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA).
In April, we engaged in the discussions at the Permanent Forum of People of African Descent. Many of the issues addressed are central to our priorities, such as investing in education, alleviating poverty, empowering women and ensuring equal access to employment, healthcare and housing. We believe in the importance of reconciliation and reckoning with the past. An essential part of any reconciliation process is to listen to those who have been affected, and the Permanent Forum can play a role in this regard. At the same time, if we are to find concrete solutions that are acceptable to all, we will have to build a safe space to exchange views, answer questions, jointly develop solutions and take action, to allow all to come on board.
In May, the EU participated in the 22nd session of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. The EU continued to engage actively in the negotiations on the draft UN declaration on the respect, protection and fulfilment of the human rights of people of African descent. While we made progress, several issues remain outstanding. It is important to take the necessary time to solve these issues before deciding on next steps. Precepts that will continue to guide our position include the need to ensure respect for the fundamental principle of the universality of human rights and the importance of not deviating from existing international human rights law.
In July, the EU joined consensus at the UN on the renewal of the mandate of the Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement. We agree that impunity fuels further grievances. Victims have the right to be heard. They have a right to justice.
We also participated to the 14th session of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. There is unfortunately a conflation of racial discrimination and discrimination on the basis of religion or belief. These are two different concepts that deserve to be treated as stand-alone forms of discrimination.
Furthermore, the EU engaged with the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent on its recent report on the theme of “the use of digital technology including artificial intelligence and consequences on people of African descent”. We emphasised that AI can contribute to solving many societal challenges, but also create risks that we must address to avoid unwanted outcomes. This is why the EU adopted the AI Act this year.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights presented in a recent report about why it is essential for states to apply an intersectional lens when developing policies for combatting discrimination. Intersecting forms of discrimination occur when a combination of two or more grounds interact with one another to produce distinct, unique and compounding experiences of discrimination. Yet, at the UN, we see a coordinated pushback against the principle of intersectionality. The term is now systematically being opposed, at the Human Rights Council, as well as in the sessions of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, the Ad Hoc Committee, and even in the context of the negotiations on the draft UN declaration. We hope that this report will enable us to leave these discussions behind.
In our view, the existing international human rights frameworks provide an adequate structure to address contemporary forms of racism. However, in order to enhance the effectiveness of the Durban process, we advocate for broader global participation, to ensure that discussions are inclusive and that decisions are based on consensus. Our common effort through the UN system must be directed toward practical actions that combat racism and lead to meaningful change.
Racism divides us at a time when collective resolve is more needed than ever. It deprives people of opportunities, reinforces inequality and stokes the flames of conflict. As a Union founded on the principles of diversity and unity, the EU remains fully committed to supporting the UN and our partners around the world in the effort to eliminate racism in all its forms. The benefits of a just and inclusive society are shared by all, and the fight against racism is one that must unite us in common purpose.
* North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.