Mr. President, 

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union.

The Candidate Countries Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia[*], Montenegro*, Serbia* and Albania*, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia align themselves with this statement.

This year, we mark the 15th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Program of Action and the 10th anniversary of the Human Rights Council. Agenda Item 9 ("Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, follow-up and implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action") is an opportunity to reflect on what has been achieved and to consider what we collectively could do better to prevent and address racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance. All societies are confronted with this scourge which causes daily suffering for countless men, women and children.

In the European Union, we benefit from the continued scrutiny of and advice from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). In line with past practice, we are pleased to report to this Council on the most recent measures. On 14 June 2016, a EU High Level Group on combating racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance was launched in Brussels and will bring together representatives of FRA, Member States, civil society organisations, and community organisations, as well as relevant EU agencies and international organisations active in this area. The objective of the group is to foster the exchange and dissemination of best practices between national authorities, and to encourage concrete discussions on how to fill existing gaps, and better prevent and combat hate crime and hate speech. On the latter issue, on 31 May 2016, the European Commission together with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Microsoft unveiled a code of conduct that includes a series of commitments to combat the spread of illegal hate speech online in Europe.

The EU and EUMS are keen to share best practices with States and stakeholders across regions. After the 50th Anniversary of the International Convention for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), we expect further progress towards its universal ratification and implementation, which is one of the core objectives of the Durban Declaration. We also invite to engage in a productive discussion on ways to improve the effectiveness of the follow-up mechanisms to the DDPA in this Council. To this end, we can collectively be guided by the Outcome document of the Durban review conference convened on 20-24 April 2009 in Geneva, and notably its paragraph 124:  QUOTE: "Requests the Human Rights Council to consider the necessary measures to enhance the effectiveness of the follow up mechanisms to the DDPA and to ensure better synergy and complementarities in the work of these mechanisms. In this regard, recommends that the Human Rights Council enhance the interface among and focus of follow up mechanisms with a view to achieve greater synchronization and coordination at all levels, within their respective mandates, including through restructuring and reorganization of their work if deemed appropriate by the Human Rights Council, and to allow joint discussions and meetings"

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http://www.un.org/en/durbanreview2009/pdf/Durban_Review_outcome_document_En.pdf  

In preparation of the planned sessions of follow-up mechanisms already in the second semester of 2016, the EU is willing to engage with all so that this Council takes concrete steps to improve effectiveness. We owe it to the victims worldwide who look at the Council with the hope that it can contribute to alleviate their suffering, and prevent a further rise of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance.

In this common endeavour, the wise words of Nelson Mandela need to be constantly recalled: "No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite".

I thank you Mr President.

[*] The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.