The UN’s Work on Racial Discrimination: Achievements and Challenges

In 1997, the Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations General Assembly decided to convene the third World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban, South Africa. All the major United Nations treaties protecting individuals from racial discrimination had been adopted prior to 1997 and the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance had been created in 1993. But the Durban Conference, symbolically held in post- apartheid South Africa, generated new momentum for these political and legal commitments against racial discrimination. This chapter presents an overview of the United Nations mechanisms and initiatives tackling racial discrimination and the thematic developments since 1997. In light of contemporary challenges posed by the use of technology and pandemics, and reflecting on the intersectional nature of discrimination, it concludes with reflections on the strengths and weaknesses of the United Nations response to racial discrimination. The chapter identifies areas for further attention, including racial profiling in law enforcement and border security, racism in sport, and the deepening inequalities caused by global emergencies.