| UNITED NATIONS A, General Assembly
Distr., GENERAL, A/ CONF. 189/…… 24 September 2001, Original:
ENGLISH, WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION,
XENOPHOBIA AND RELATED INTOLERANCE Durban, 31 August-8 September 2001,
Adopted on 8 September 2001 in Durban, South Africa (Final Version
Released on December 31, 2001)
Declaration
31. We
also express our deep concern whenever indicators in the fields of, inter
alia, education, employment, health, housing, infant
mortality and life expectancy for many peoples show a situation of
disadvantage, particularly where the contributing factors include
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
33. We
consider it essential for all countries in the region of the Americas
and all other areas of the African Diaspora to recognize the existence
of their population of African descent and the cultural, economic,
political and scientific contributions made by that population, and
recognize the persistence of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia
and related intolerance that specifically affect them, and recognize
that, in many countries, their longstanding inequality in terms of
access to, inter alia, education, health care and housing has
been a profound cause of the socio-economic disparities that affect
them;
51. We
reaffirm the necessity of eliminating racial discrimination against
migrants, including migrant workers, in relation to issues such as
employment, social services, including education and health, as well as
access to justice, and that their treatment must be in accordance with
international human rights instruments, free from racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
75. We
note with deep concern the fact that, in many countries, people infected
or affected by HIV/AIDS, as well as those who are presumed to be
infected, belong to groups vulnerable to racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance, which has a negative impact and
impedes their access to health care and medication;
Programme of Action
3. Urges
States to work nationally and in cooperation with other States and
relevant regional and international organizations and programmes to
strengthen national mechanisms to promote and protect the human rights
of victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance who are infected, or presumably infected, with pandemic
diseases such as HIV/AIDS and to take concrete measures, including
preventive action, appropriate access to medication and treatment,
programmes of education, training and mass media dissemination, to
eliminate violence, stigmatization, discrimination, unemployment and
other negative consequences arising from these pandemics;
5. Requests
States, supported by international cooperation as appropriate, to
consider positively concentrating additional investments in healthcare
systems, education, public health, electricity, drinking water and
environmental control, as well as other affirmative or positive action
initiatives, in communities of primarily African descent;
8. Urges
financial and development institutions and the operational programmes
and specialized agencies of the United Nations, in accordance with their
regular budgets and the procedures of their governing bodies:
(c) To
develop programmes intended for people of African descent allocating
additional investments to health systems, education, housing,
electricity, drinking water and environmental control measures and
promoting equal opportunities in employment, as well as other
affirmative or positive action initiatives;
18. Requests
States to adopt public policies and give impetus to programmes on behalf
of and in concert with indigenous women and girls, with a view to
promoting their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights;
to putting an end to their situation of disadvantage for reasons of
gender and ethnicity; to dealing with urgent problems affecting them in
regard to education, their physical and mental health, economic life and
in the matter of violence against them, including domestic violence; and
to eliminating the situation of aggravated discrimination suffered by
indigenous women and girls on multiple grounds of racism and gender
discrimination;
29. Urges
States to take concrete measures that would eliminate racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in the workplace
against all workers, including migrants, and ensure the full equality of
all before the law, including labour law, and further urges States to
eliminate barriers, where appropriate, to: participating in
vocational training, collective bargaining, employment, contracts and
trade union activity; accessing judicial and administrative tribunals
dealing with grievances; seeking employment in different parts of their
country of residence; and working in safe and healthy conditions;
30. Urges
States:
(g) To
take all possible measures to promote the full enjoyment by all migrants
of all human rights, including those related to fair wages and equal
remuneration for work of equal value without distinction of any kind,
and to the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness,
disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in
circumstances beyond their control, social security, including social
insurance, access to education, health care, social services and respect
for their cultural identity;
33. Recommends
that host countries of migrants consider the provision of adequate
social services, in particular in the areas of health, education and
adequate housing, as a matter of priority, in cooperation with the
United Nations agencies, the regional organizations and international
financial bodies; also requests that these agencies provide an adequate
response to requests for such services;
49. Urges
States to take, where applicable, appropriate measures to prevent racial
discrimination against persons belonging to national or ethnic,
religious and linguistic minorities in respect of employment, health
care, housing, social services and education, and in this context forms
of multiple discrimination should be taken into account;
81. Urges
all States to prohibit discriminatory treatment based on race, colour,
descent or national or ethnic origin against foreigners and migrant
workers, inter alia, where appropriate, concerning the
granting of work visas and work permits, housing, health care and access
to justice;
92. Urges
States to collect, compile, analyse, disseminate and publish reliable
statistical data at the national and local levels and undertake all
other related measures which are necessary to assess regularly the
situation of individuals and groups of individuals who are victims of
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
(a)
Such statistical data should be disaggregated in accordance with
national legislation. Any such information shall, as appropriate,
be collected with the explicit consent of the victims, based on their
self-identification and in accordance with provisions on human rights
and fundamental freedoms, such as data protection regulations and
privacy guarantees. This information must not be misused;
(b)
The statistical data and information should be collected with the
objective of monitoring the situation of marginalized groups, and the
development and evaluation of legislation, policies, practices and other
measures aimed at preventing and combating racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, as well as for the
purpose of determining whether any measures have an unintentional
disparate impact on victims. To that end, it recommends the
development of voluntary, consensual and participatory strategies in the
process of collecting, designing and using information;
(c)
The information should take into account economic and social indicators,
including, where appropriate, health and health status, infant and
maternal mortality, life expectancy, literacy, education, employment,
housing, land ownership, mental and physical health care, water,
sanitation, energy and communications services, poverty and average
disposable income, in order to elaborate social and economic development
policies with a view to closing the existing gaps in social and economic
conditions;
100. Urges
States to establish, on the basis of statistical information, national
programmes, including affirmative or positive measures, to promote the
access of individuals and groups of individuals who are or may be
victims of racial discrimination to basic social services, including
primary education, basic health care and adequate housing;
101. Urges
States to establish programmes to promote the access without
discrimination of individuals or groups of individuals who are victims
of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance to
health care, and to promote strong efforts to eliminate disparities, inter alia
in the infant and maternal mortality rates, childhood immunizations,
HIV/AIDS, heart diseases, cancer and contagious diseases;
Health, environment
109. Urges
States, individually and through international cooperation, to enhance
measures to fulfil the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest
attainable standard of physical and mental health, with a view to
eliminating disparities in health status, as indicated in standard
health indexes, which might result from racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance;
110. Urges
States and encourages non-governmental organizations and the private
sector:
(a) To
provide effective mechanisms for monitoring and eliminating racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in the
health-care system, such as the development and enforcement of effective
anti-discrimination laws;
(b) To
take steps to ensure equal access to comprehensive, quality health care
affordable for all, including primary health care for medically
underserved people, facilitate the training of a health workforce that
is both diverse and motivated to work in underserved communities, and
work to increase diversity in the health-care profession by recruiting
on merit and potential women and men from all groups, representing the
diversity of their societies, for health-care careers and by retaining
them in the health professions;
(c) To
work with health-care professionals, community-based health providers,
nongovernmental organizations, scientific researchers and private
industry as a means of improving the health status of marginalized
communities, in particular victims of racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance;
(d) To
work with health professionals, scientific researchers and international
and regional health organizations to study the differential impact of
medical treatments and health strategies on various communities;
(e) To
adopt and implement policies and programmes to improve HIV/AIDS
prevention efforts in high-risk communities and work to expand
availability of HIV/AIDS care, treatment and other support services;
111. Invites
States to consider non-discriminatory measures to provide a safe and
healthy environment for individuals and groups of individuals victims of
or subject to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance, and in particular:
(a) To
improve access to public information on health and environment issues;
(b) To
ensure that relevant concerns are taken into account in the public
process of decision-making on the environment;
(c) To
share technology and successful practices to improve human health and
environment in all areas;
(d) To
take appropriate remedial measures, as possible, to clean, re-use and
redevelop contaminated sites and, where appropriate, relocate those
affected on a voluntary basis after consultations;
133. Urges
States to develop and strengthen anti-racist and gender-sensitive human
rights training for public officials, including personnel in the
administration of justice, particularly in law enforcement, correctional
and security services, as well as among health-care, schools and
migration authorities;
154. Encourages
the World Health Organization and other relevant international
organizations to promote and develop activities for the recognition of
the impact of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance as significant social determinants of physical and mental
health status, including the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and access to health
care, and to prepare specific projects, including research, to ensure
equitable health systems for the victims;
158. Recognizes
that these historical injustices have undeniably contributed to the
poverty, underdevelopment, marginalization, social exclusion, economic
disparities, instability and insecurity that affect many people in
different parts of the world, in particular in developing
countries. The Conference recognizes the need to develop programmes
for the social and economic development of these societies and the
Diaspora, within the framework of a new partnership based on the spirit
of solidarity and mutual respect, in the following areas:. . .
Investment in health infrastructure tackling HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis
and malaria, including through the Global AIDS and Health Fund; . . .
176. Urges
States to adopt and implement social development policies based on
reliable statistical data and centred on the attainment, by the year
2015, of the commitments to meet the basic needs of all set forth in
paragraph 36 of the Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social
Development, held at Copenhagen in 1995, with a view to closing
significantly the existing gaps in living conditions faced by victims of
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance,
especially regarding the illiteracy rate, universal primary education,
infant mortality, underfive child mortality, health, reproductive health
care for all and access to safe drinking water. Promotion of
gender equality will also be taken into account in the adoption and
implementation of these policies; |
