United Nations
A/RES/59/177
General Assembly
Distr.: General
2 March 2005
Fifty-ninth session
Agenda item 103
Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 20 December 2004
[on the report of the Third Committee (A/59/501)]
59/177. Global efforts for the total elimination of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and
the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to
the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolution 58/160 of 22 December 2003, in which it decided to
place emphasis on the concrete implementation of the Durban Declaration and
Programme of Action, adopted by the World Conference against Racism, Racial
Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, held in Durban, South Africa,
from 31 August to 8 September 2001, 1 as a solid foundation for a broad-based
consensus for further actions and initiatives towards the total elimination of the
scourge of racism,
Recalling also its resolution 57/195 of 18 December 2002, in which it outlined
the important roles and responsibilities of the various organs of the United Nations
and other stakeholders at the international, regional and national levels, including,
in particular, the Commission on Human Rights,
Recalling further its resolution 56/266 of 27 March 2002, in which it endorsed
the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action as constituting a solid foundation
for further action and initiatives towards the total elimination of the scourge of
racism,
Reiterating that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights
and have the potential to contribute constructively to the development and
well-being of their societies, and that any doctrine of racial superiority is
scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust and dangerous and must
be rejected, together with theories that attempt to determine the existence of
separate human races,
Convinced that racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance manifest themselves in a differentiated manner for women and girls and
may be among the factors leading to a deterioration in their living conditions,
poverty, violence, multiple forms of discrimination and the limitation or denial of
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See A/CONF.189/12 and Corr.1, chap. I.