Abigail Noko is the regional representative of the Regional Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Southern Africa. 

The Durban World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, which was held from 31 August to 8 September 2001, was a seminal moment for the international community to address racism and the actions needed to create a just and fair society free of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance at the national, regional and international levels. 

Importantly, it recognised the root causes of multiple, aggravated and intersecting forms of racism and racial discrimination. It placed victims of such forms of discrimination at centre-stage. Further, it offered measures for prevention, education, and protection. It advocated the provision of effective remedies; and it devised strategies to achieve full and effective equality. 

Together with international human rights treaties it was the ultimate recipe to combat such forms of discrimination.

It is important to recognise that 2021 is a watershed moment in the global fight against racism. We have seen the emergence of racial justice movements across the world. In South Africa, the commemoration of 25 years of the Constitution is an opportunity to take stock of how the Mandela-Robinson pledge has taken root.

The Mandela-Robinson pledge on “Tolerance and diversity: a vision for the 21st century” was a vision declaration that was adopted by delegates at the world conference. It stated that, “Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and all kinds of related intolerance have not gone away. We recognise that they persist in the new century and that their persistence is rooted in fear: fear of what is different, fear of the other, fear of the loss of personal security. And while we recognise that human fear is in itself ineradicable, we maintain that its consequences are not ineradicable.”

The theme of Durban+20, “Reparations, racial justice and equality for people of African descent”, forces us to ask sobering questions: 

What progress has been made since the Durban world conference? What has not been achieved and why? Equally important, what is the relevance of the Durban world conference for young people today? 

First, in terms of progress made, as High Commissioner Mary Robinson said at the time, it was important to make a conference of actions and not just words.

The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action has been catalytic in laying the foundation for global efforts in combating and preventing racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. It has contributed significant gains in the promulgation of legislative measures, the development of national action plans and monitoring and complaint mechanisms. It has also propelled the issue of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance into a more urgent priority today. 

Some indicative data from our office suggest that since 2001 some progress has been made in several respects: 

• Forty-two member states have adopted or amended legislation prohibiting racial discrimination. 
• Thirty-five member states have established equality bodies for combating racial discrimination and promoting equality. 
• Twenty-three member states and regional institutions have adopted national and regional policies against racism. 
• Twenty-six more states have ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, bringing the total to 182 states that are party to the convention.

In addition, we now have the International Decade for People of African Descent, which was pronounced for the period 2015-2025; the International Day for People of African Descent was celebrated for the first time on 31 August 2021, and last month the United Nations General Assembly agreed to establish a new Permanent Forum of People of African Descent.

Challenges remain

While the Durban world conference and the Durban Review Conference helped the international community develop an action-orientated agenda, many challenges remain. 

In more recent times, we have seen that hate speech, and violent attacks motivated by perceived race or ethnicity are on the rise. Discrimination, whether in the workplace or in seeking basic services, is still pervasive. Migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and people of different ethnic backgrounds should not be used as scapegoats to achieve political ends. Covid-19 has aggravated the situation and generated a wave of stigma, discrimination, racism and xenophobia against certain national and ethnic groups. 

The High Commissioner’s recent report on systemic racism and violations of human rights by law enforcement highlights a litany of violations of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights suffered by people of African descent on a daily basis and across different states and jurisdictions.

The United Nations and various human rights mechanisms have attributed this to a lack of political will, impunity and lack of redress, an inability to listen to those affected and denialism. At the time, the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action pointed out that the main “obstacles to overcoming racial discrimination and achieving racial equality mainly lie in the lack of political will, weak legislation and lack of implementation strategies and concrete action by states, as well as the prevalence of racist attitudes and negative stereotyping”. 

Mobilising political will and leadership at all levels is what is needed to achieve the full and effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. 

It is important to be clear about why the outcome of the Durban World Conference should matter to young people. 

First and foremost, the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action highlights the important role of young people in the fight against racism. It urges states to encourage the full and active participation of youth in the elaboration, planning and implementation of activities to fight racism and to facilitate national and international youth dialogues. It also calls for the establishment of youth mechanisms that can disseminate and exchange information and build networks to raise awareness, cooperate and consult with civil society and the state.

Young people, whether in South Africa or across the world, have been at the forefront of fighting to put an end to systemic racism. Had the Durban Declaration and Platform of Action been in existence, the young people of the 1976 Soweto youth uprising would have found a roadmap for dismantling Bantu Education, and Charlotte Maxeke would have found it to be an instrument to lobby for anti-pass laws. 

The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action has global recognition, acceptance and is an instrument for catalytic transformative change. Just as racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance were issues of global significance in 2001, they still are today and young people can use the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action to build solidarity, lead change and stand up against racism. We need the voices and actions of young people to break through the silence that locks in discrimination and oppression.

All young people should join the fight against racism and stand up for human rights. As our office has said before, “the status quo is untenable” and “systemic racism needs a systemic response”. To achieve that we must stop denying and start dismantling systemic racism. We must ensure accountability for such forms of human rights violations. We must ensure that people who suffer from racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance are heard, protected and their concerns addressed. We must confront the legacies of the past by putting special measures in place, including restorative justice. DM/MC