Saying they themselves had received threats, United Nations human rights experts today called on the Government of the Netherlands to facilitate the growing national debate on whether the portrayal of a servant in an age-old Christmas parade perpetuates a negative stereotype of Africans and people of African descent.

Welcoming the adoption of the first-ever resolution on people with albinism by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the United Nations human rights office today urged all African States to take action to protect and ensure the rights of these routinely mistreated people.

Access to quality education has a significant role in preventing racism, xenophobia and other forms of discrimination, a United Nations independent expert said today.

Spanish authorities must show leadership in the fight against racism and xenophobia in the country, an independent United Nations expert said today, adding that, against a backdrop of pervasive unemployment, the Government must ensure vulnerable groups such as immigrants are not blamed for the nation’s economic woes.