UN's top human rights official announces publication of anti-racism action plan

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, today announced the publication of the declaration and action plan of the World Conference against Racism, which was held last year in Durban, South Africa and concluded without final agreement on a text.

"The anti-discrimination agenda the World Conference gave us is now a living document," the High Commissioner said in a statement released in Geneva. "With this agenda in our hands, we can regain the momentum created by the Conference and get down to the business of making the commitments made at Durban a reality."

Publication of the Declaration and Programme of Action had been delayed due to a "difference of views or perceptions" regarding mainly where to place several paragraphs of text drafted as the Conference drew to a close in Durban last September, according to the statement.

Two key negotiators - South Africa's Foreign Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini, who was President of the World Conference, and Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel, who at the time held the Presidency of the European Union - have indicated that all outstanding issues have been resolved.

The General Assembly will consider the report of the Conference, including the Declaration and Programme of Action, in the near future.

The Declaration includes measures of prevention, education and protection aimed at the eradication of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance at the national, regional and international levels. It also contains a section on providing effective compensatory and other measures to victims of racism and racial discrimination. In addition, it provides strategies to achieve full and effective equality. The 40-page Programme of Action elaborates concrete steps to reach these goals.