Marking Anti-Racial Discrimination Day, Senior Officials in General Assembly Warn Racism Being Normalized, Call for Urgent Action

Marking Anti-Racial Discrimination Day, Senior Officials in General Assembly Warn Racism Being Normalized, Call for Urgent Action

Racism - from its deadly historical manifestations to its growing normalization on digital platforms and in political discourse - continues to divide societies and dehumanize communities worldwide, senior United Nations officials told the General Assembly today, underscoring the need for urgent, collective action to uphold equality, justice and human rights for all.

Today's meeting was held to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, observed annually on 21 March. The Day was proclaimed by the United Nations in 1966 to commemorate the 1960 killing of 69 peaceful protesters in Sharpeville, South Africa - a turning point in the fight against apartheid - and follows the 1965 adoption of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

In her opening remarks, General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock (Germany) quoted South African Anglican bishop Desmond Tutu once saying: "Peace cannot exist without justice, and justice cannot exist where discrimination persists."

"Those words capture the very spirit of today's commemoration," she said. "But this day is about much more than Sharpeville. It is about all of our nations and communities - none of which are immune to the scourge of racism."

Discrimination never stops with one group, she pointed out, adding that whether it appears as racism, islamophobia, antisemitism, sexism, homophobia or any other form of hatred, it follows the same logic and leads to the same end: dehumanization.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said racism fuels extremist violence, stigmatizes Africans and People of African descent, as well as Asians and people of Asian descent, and fuels the oppression of a wide range of ethnic, religious, linguistic and national minorities, including Indigenous Peoples.

"I am deeply troubled by how racism and xenophobia are being mainstreamed on digital platforms and in political discourse," he said, adding: What might begin with dog whistles - coded messages meant to embolden other bigots - can quickly turn into full-throated hate speech.

"The remedy is solidarity," he declared, urging Governments, institutions, businesses and communities to work together to safeguard the dignity, justice, equality and rights of every person.

UN Human Rights Chief: 'Race Remains Most Common Ground for Discrimination'

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the global anti-racism framework has delivered real gains. For example, instruments such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Durban Declaration "set in motion a cascade of changes at the national level", including anti-discrimination laws and equality institutions. But he warned the world is reaching "a checkpoint where this progress is questioned, delayed and even pushed backwards".

"Race remains the most common ground for discrimination globally," he continued, warning that today many States still lack comprehensive anti-racism legislation as hate speech spreads - often targeting minorities online and offline.

The High Commissioner urged confronting the legacies of enslavement and colonialism and reforming global governance systems that entrench inequality. "Being anti-racist does not mean standing with one group against another," he said, adding: "It means standing on the side of human rights and justice for all."

'Peoples of African Descent Will Not Wait for Another Century,' Says Speaker

Justin Hansford, founder of the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center, said frameworks and resolutions on reparatory justice are taking shape, underscoring that reparations will define justice in the twenty-first century, with the UN at the centre of that effort.

Mr. Hansford described the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent as both a mechanism and a moral imperative. Its mandate empowers it to advise the Human Rights Council and the UN system, advance a draft Declaration on the Human Rights of People of African Descent and mainstream the fight against anti-Blackness across the UN. In just a few years, the Forum has engaged more than 500 civil society representatives through regional consultations alongside over 1,000 attendees at its annual meetings, ensuring grassroots voices help shape the draft Declaration and the diasporic agenda.

"And yes, peoples of African descent are rising and declaring we will not wait another century," he said, underscoring that "the United Nations is one of the most important workshops where [the] restitching [of human dignity] will take place".

Calls for Reparatory, Economic Justice

The representative of Mali, speaking for the African Group, said Africans and their descendants continue to face systemic barriers and exclusions. He urged States to address and eliminate structural racism, including racial profiling and unequal access to education, healthcare, housing, employment and in infrastructure and social services. He recommended that the Forum prioritize global reparatory and economic justice as a critical component of addressing structural inequalities in the global economy, achieving sustainable development and ensuring global racial equality.

Lebanon's delegate, speaking on behalf of the Asia-Pacific Group, recognized that "despite progress made in many parts of the world, racial discrimination continues to undermine social cohesion, fuel injustice and deny millions of people their fundamental human rights". Addressing these challenges requires sustained political will, inclusive policies and meaningful dialogue grounded in mutual respect and understanding, he stressed.

His counterpart from Cuba, speaking on behalf of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States, said that the region expresses their diversity through race, colour, culture and language. In that regard, he recognized the invaluable contributions of Indigenous Peoples and reaffirmed the Group's commitment to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as to the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032).

Consequences of Slavery, Colonialism Not Past Episodes

The representative of Colombia highlighted the need to confront the historical roots of discrimination - including slavery and colonialism. "Their consequences today cannot be treated as episodes of the past that have been overcome", he said, as they continue to affect development in the Global South through institutional violence, inequality and discrimination against Indigenous and Afro-descendant Peoples. Strengthening international cooperation, including South-South and triangular initiatives, is essential to ensure dignity, equality and historical reparations, while also addressing modern forms of racism such as algorithmic bias, digital violence and selective surveillance that perpetuate colonial patterns.

South Africa's delegate, speaking on behalf of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), recalled his country's liberation history, saying that SADC was forged by struggles against colonial domination, minority rule and apartheid, and that racism was "embedded in State power, law, land ownership, labour systems" and exclusion from citizenship. Marking 21 March as both South Africa's Human Rights Day and the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, he said "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights".

Speaking for the Western European and Other States Group, the United Kingdom's representative said that today is a moment to recognize progress and "reflect how far we still have to go". "Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance remain deeply rooted challenges" worldwide, fuelled by disinformation, stereotyping, hate speech and emerging harms linked to new technologies, he added, calling for universal ratification of the Convention and voicing support for the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and the Special Rapporteur's mandate.

Ethiopia's delegate cited his country's legacy of resistance, "immortalized by the victory of Adwa", stating this inspired liberation movements and helped propel Pan-Africanism towards decolonization and the African Union. Yet racism persists, amplified by digital platforms, and even UN staff report discrimination. He also urged the UN to model inclusivity and reaffirmed commitment to the Durban Declaration. "The persistence of racism and racial discrimination in the various parts of the world remains a matter of profound concern," he concluded.