A/HRC/RES/54/27
United Nations
General Assembly
Distr.: General
16 October 2023
Original: English
Human Rights Council
Fifty-fourth session
11 September–13 October 2023
Agenda item 9
Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
forms of intolerance: follow-up to and implementation of
the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council
on 12 October 2023
54/27.
From rhetoric to reality: a global call for concrete action against racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
The Human Rights Council,
Reaffirming the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
including those of promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental
freedoms for all, and reaffirming also the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
Recalling the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,
Recalling also all previous resolutions on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia
and other related forms of intolerance, including Human Rights Council resolution 47/21 of
13 July 2021, and urging the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the
relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council and international mechanisms to
enhance and broaden their efforts to implement the Durban Declaration and Programme of
Action, and inviting relevant United Nations bodies to do the same,
Emphasizing the relevance of the International Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination as an important international instrument to combat the
scourge of racism, and in this regard noting with concern that the commitment made at the
World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related
Intolerance to achieve universal ratification of this primary instrument by 2005 was
regrettably not fulfilled, and recalling the recommendation contained in the Durban
Declaration and Programme of Action to prepare complementary international standards to
strengthen and update international instruments against racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance in all their aspects,1
Acknowledging the importance of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action
as a milestone in the common fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance, as it addresses the deep historical roots of contemporary racism,
acknowledges that slavery and the slave trade are – and should always have been – crimes
against humanity, takes into account the legacy of some of the most appalling chapters of
1
A/CONF.189/12, p. 71, para. 199.
GE.23-20040(E)