HRC 48 Oral Statement: Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, follow‑up to and implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (General Debate)

%3Ciframe%20class%3D%22media-youtube-player%22%20id%3D%22media-youtube-0-yjxuomt0s%22%20width%3D%22576%22%20height%3D%22324%22%20title%3D%22HRC%2048%20Oral%20Statement%20-%20General%20Debate%20on%20Item%209%22%20src%3D%22%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2F0_YJxUomt0s%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26amp%3Benablejsapi%3D1%26amp%3Bmodestbranding%3D1%26amp%3Bplayerapiid%3Dmedia-youtube-0-yjxuomt0s%26amp%3Brel%3D0%26amp%3Bshowinfo%3D0%26amp%3Bcolor%3Dwhite%26autoplay%3D1%26version%3D3%22%20frameborder%3D%220%22%20allowfullscreen%3D%22%22%20allow%3D%22autoplay%22%3EVideo%20of%20HRC%2048%20Oral%20Statement%20-%20General%20Debate%20on%20Item%209%3C%2Fiframe%3E

Privacy statement. This embed will serve content from youtube.com.

Transcript:

The release of the High Commissioner’s report and “agenda towards transformative change for racial justice and equality”; and the adoption of the George Floyd resolution creating the first-ever independent expert mechanism focusing on systemic racism against people of African descent especially in the context of law enforcement, are watershed moments in the global fight against anti-Black racism.

Since last year, the international community has spoken in unison on the urgency to double national efforts to dismantle structural and systemic racism. These national efforts must include providing redress and reparations for historic racial injustices against people of African descent.

The creation of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent presents a historic opportunity to make real progress towards racial equity and justice.

While the Biden administration has taken important steps to signal its intent to lead by the power of example on human rights, such as running for Council and extending a standing invitation to UN human rights experts, much more needs to be done to assert leadership in the global fight against racial discrimination.

The Biden administration should adopt a plan of action to fully implement the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

This plan should detail concrete steps to bring U.S. law and policies in line with international obligations and allocate resources to promote the UN Decade for People of African Descent.