Durban Watch

"The Human Rights Council,
...
9. Takes note of the conclusions and recommendations made by the Ad Hoc Committee of the Human Rights Council on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which, at its fourteenth session, continued its discussions on the elaboration of a draft additional protocol to the Convention;
10. Decides that the Chair-Rapporteur of the Ad Hoc Committee may request that the annual session of the Ad Hoc Committee be split into two one-week segments;
11. Requests the High Commissioner, in the further fulfilment of the mandate of the Ad Hoc Committee, to engage with the group of six legal experts, representing different regions and legal systems, and to task them to continue to provide the Chair-Rapporteur with more developed inputs and precise legal advice, to allow for the preparation of the ChairRapporteur’s document, in accordance with the Committee’s mandate;
12. Also requests the High Commissioner to facilitate the interactive participation of these legal experts in one of the two one-week segments of the fifteenth and sixteenth sessions of the Ad Hoc Committee, to be held in 2025 and 2026 respectively, and to task them with providing advice with a view to contributing to discussions on the elaboration of a draft additional protocol criminalizing acts of a racist and xenophobic nature, in order to implement the Committee’s mandate;
13. Requests the Chair-Rapporteur of the Ad Hoc Committee to present in person a progress report to the General Assembly at its eightieth session, and to participate in the interactive dialogue and carry out consultations with New York-based delegations and stakeholders in order to continue progress in the elaboration of complementary standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, filling procedural and substantive gaps as a matter of urgency, necessity and priority; "

The resolution was adopted by the U.N. Human Rights Council on October 10, 2024, by a vote of 30 in favor (Algeria, Bangladesh, Benin, Brazil, Burundi, Cameroon, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Eritrea, Gambia, Ghana, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Morocco, Qatar, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Viet Nam), 5 against (Albania, France, Germany, Netherlands, United States), with 12 abstentions (Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Dominican Republic, Finland, Georgia, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Paraguay, Romania)

"The Human Rights Council,
...
10. Takes note of the conclusions and recommendations made by the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which, at its thirteenth session, continued its discussions on the elaboration of a draft additional protocol to the Convention;
11. Requests the High Commissioner, in the further fulfilment of the mandate of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to continue to engage with the group of legal experts, representing different regions and legal systems, referred to by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 51/32 of 7 October 2022, and to task them to continue to provide the Chair-Rapporteur with precise guidance and inputs to allow for the preparation of the Chair’s document, in accordance with the Committee’s mandate;
12. Also requests the High Commissioner to facilitate the participation of these legal experts in the fourteenth session of the Ad Hoc Committee, and to task them with providing advice with a view to contributing to discussions on the elaboration of a draft additional protocol criminalizing acts of a racist and xenophobic nature, in order to implement the Committee’s mandate;
13. Requests the Chair-Rapporteur of the Ad Hoc Committee to present in person a progress report to the General Assembly at its seventy-ninth session, and to participate in the interactive dialogue and carry out consultations with New York-based delegations and stakeholders, in order to continue progress in the elaboration of complementary standards to the Convention, filling procedural and substantive gaps as a matter of urgency, necessity and priority;..."

The resolution was adopted by the U.N. Human Rights Council on October 12, 2023, by a vote of 33 in favor (Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivia, Cameroon, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Viet Nam), 7 against (Czechia, France, Germany, Montenegro, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and United States), with 7 abstentions (Belgium, Finland, Georgia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Nepal and Romania)

"The Human Rights Council,
...
9. Takes note of the conclusions and recommendations made by the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which, at its eleventh and twelfth sessions, furthered the discussions on the elaboration of a draft additional protocol to the Convention;
10. Requests the High Commissioner, in the further fulfilment of the mandate of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to engage legal experts, representing the five regions and different legal systems, and task them with providing the Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee with precise guidance and inputs to allow for the preparation of the Chair’s document, in accordance with the Committee’s mandate;
11. Also requests the High Commissioner to facilitate the participation of these legal experts in the thirteenth and fourteenth sessions of the Ad Hoc Committee, and to task them with providing advice with a view to contributing to discussions on the elaboration of a draft additional protocol criminalizing acts of a racist and xenophobic nature, in order to implement the Committee’s mandate;..."

The resolution was adopted by the U.N. Human Rights Council on October 7, 2022, by a vote of 32 in favor (Argentina, Armenia, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mexico, Namibia, Nepal, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Venezuela) to 9 against (Czechia, France, Germany, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and United States of America), with 6 abstentions (Finland, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands and Republic of Korea)

"The Human Rights Council,
...
5. Reaffirms the work of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which, at its tenth session, commenced discussions on the elaboration of a draft additional protocol to the Convention;..."

The resolution was adopted by the U.N. Human Rights Council on October 11, 2021, by a vote of 32 in favor (Argentina, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Cote D'Ivoire, Cuba, Eritrea, Fiji, Gabon, India, Indonesia, Libya, Malawi, Mauritania, Mexico, Namibia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Russian Federation, Senegal, Somalia, Suzanne, Togo, Uzbekistan, Venezuela), 10 against (Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Ukraine, United Kingdom), with 5 abstentions (Bulgaria, Japan, Marshall Islands, Republic of Korea, Uruguay)

"The Human Rights Council,
...
5. Reaffirms the work of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which, at its tenth session, commenced discussions on the elaboration of a draft additional protocol to the Convention;
6. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to organize, before the eleventh session of the Ad Hoc Committee, a two-day expert seminar, with two legal experts from each region in the relevant areas of law, a member of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, in order to consider the elements of a draft additional protocol to the Convention prepared by the Ad Hoc Committee at its tenth session pursuant to General Assembly resolution 73/262 and Human Rights Council resolution 34/36, and to prepare a report on the deliberations and recommendations thereon and submit it to the Ad Hoc Committee at its eleventh session;..."

The resolution was adopted without a vote.

"The Human Rights Council,
...
5. Welcomes paragraph 5 of General Assembly resolution 71/181 of 19 December 2016, and to this end directs the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination to commence, at its tenth session, its elaboration of a draft additional protocol to the Convention criminalizing acts of a racist and xenophobic nature;..."

The resolution was adopted by a vote of 32 in favor (Bangladesh, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Botswana, Brazil, Burundi, China, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Togo, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela) to 5 against (Albania, Germany, Switzerland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America), with 10 abstentions (Belgium, Croatia, Georgia, Hungary, Japan, Latvia, Netherlands, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Slovenia).

"The Human Rights Council,
...
Recalling further relevant General Assembly resolutions, in particular Assembly resolution 71/181 of 19 December 2016,

Recalling in the above context paragraph 5 of General Assembly resolution 71/181,

1. Decides to implement the request of General Assembly contained in its resolution 71/181 by requesting the Chair-Rapporteur of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Human Rights Council on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination to ensure the commencement of the negotiations on the draft additional protocol to the Convention criminalizing acts of a racist and xenophobic nature during the tenth session of the Ad Hoc Committee;
2. Also decides to remain seized of this priority matter."

"The Human Rights Council,
...
11. Underlines the imperative need for the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards to elaborate complementary standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, in accordance with paragraph 199 of the Durban Programme of Action;..."

"The Human Rights Council,

Recalling its decision 3/103 of 8 December 2006 on the elaboration of complementary standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the establishment of the Ad Hoc Committee for this purpose, Welcoming the progress achieved and noting the views expressed during the fourth session of the Ad Hoc Committee,

Recalling the need for adequate protection for victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance at the national, regional and international levels, as well as appropriate remedies while combating all forms of impunity in this regard,

Underlining the imperative need for the Ad Hoc Committee to elaborate complementary standards to the International Convention in accordance with paragraph 199 of the Durban Programme of Action,

1. Decides that the Ad Hoc Committee shall convene its fifth session from 8 to 19 April 2013;
2. Takes note of the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on its fourth session;
3. Invites the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Ad Hoc Committee to hold informal consultations, from within existing resources, with regional and political coordinators during the inter-sessional period between the fourth and fifth sessions of the Ad Hoc Committee, with the aim of preparing the fifth session and collecting concrete proposals for discussion on the topics of xenophobia, establishment, designation or maintaining of national mechanisms with competencies to protect against and prevent all forms and manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and procedural gaps with regard to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, in accordance with its mandate;
4. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to send out a questionnaire, from within existing resources, to gather information regarding the three topics discussed during the fourth session of the Ad Hoc Committee and in its report (xenophobia, national mechanisms and procedural gaps), including legal and judicial frameworks and practices, substantive and procedural measures in line with the mandate of the Ad Hoc Committee, and possible recommendations;
5. Invites the Office of the High Commissioner to post the responses to the questionnaire on its website and, in consultation with the Chairperson-Rapporteur, to prepare a summary of responses to the questionnaire received during the inter-sessional period for discussion by the Ad Hoc Committee at its fifth session;
6. Recommends that the Ad Hoc Committee, at its fifth session, discuss new topic(s) as contained in its report on its third session or additional topic(s) submitted during the inter-sessional period;
7. Decides to remain seized of this priority issue."

"The Human Rights Council,

Recalling its decision 3/103 of 8 December 2006 on the elaboration of complementary standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the creation of the Ad Hoc Committee for this purpose, Underlining the imperative need for the Ad Hoc Committee to elaborate complementary standards to the International Convention in accordance with paragraph 199 of the Durban Programme of Action (A/CONF.189/12).

1. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Ad Hoc Committee on the elaboration of complementary standards and notes the views expressed during the second session of the Ad Hoc Committee;
2. Decides that the Ad Hoc Committee shall convene its third session from 29 November to 10 December 2010;
3. Also decides to remain seized of this priority issue."

"The Human Rights Council,

Recalling its decision 3/103 of 8 December 2006 in which, heeding the decision and instruction of the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, it decided to establish the Ad Hoc Committee of the Human Rights Council on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards, with a mandate to elaborate, as a matter of priority and necessity, complementary standards in the form of either a convention or additional protocol(s) to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, filling the existing gaps in the Convention and also providing new normative standards aimed at combating all forms of contemporary racism, including incitement to racial and religious hatred,

Recalling also its resolution 3/2 of 8 December 2006, in which it reaffirmed that there would be no renegotiation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action,

Welcoming the progress achieved during the meetings held during the first and second parts of the first session of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Human Rights Council on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards, and expressing the common desire of the international human rights system and the need to enhance the momentum of this process with a view to ensuring the timely fulfilment of the mandate of the Ad Hoc Committee,

Recalling the need to provide adequate protection for victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, as well as appropriate remedies while combating all forms of impunity in this regard,

1. Endorses the road map adopted by the Ad Hoc Committee of the Human Rights Council on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards during the second part of its first session as a guiding framework document for all future work in this regard;
2. Requests the Chairperson-Rapporteur to ensure that the outcome referred to in the road map is circulated in a timely manner to all stakeholders, in order that complementary standards to strengthen and update international instruments against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in all their aspects may be elaborated from the second session onwards;
3. Decides that all future sessions of the Ad Hoc Committee shall be convened in a consolidated period of 10 consecutive working days;
4. Also decides that the second session of the Ad Hoc Committee will be held in October 2009;
5. Further decides to retain this priority issue on its programme of work and to review progress at its thirteenth session."

"The Human Rights Council,
...
7. Also welcomes the convening of the first part of the first session of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards in February 2008, and requests the Ad Hoc Committee, at the second part of its first session, to fulfil, as a matter of priority, the objective outlined in paragraph 199 of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action;..."

"The Human Rights Council,
...
Recalling its decision 3/103 of 8 December 2006, by which, heeding the decision and instruction of the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, it decided to establish the Ad Hoc Committee of the Human Rights Council on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards, with the mandate to elaborate, as a matter of priority and necessity, complementary standards in the form of either a convention or additional protocol(s) to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, filling the existing gaps in the Convention, and also providing new normative standards aimed at combating all forms of contemporary racism, including incitement to racial and religious hatred,

Regretting that the mandate of the Five Experts on Complementary Standards was not accomplished in accordance with the requirements set out in its decision 3/103,

Decides:
(a) To convene the inaugural session of the Ad Hoc Committee in the first quarter of 2008 to commence its mandate;
(b) To allocate no more than two days at the beginning of the inaugural session of the Ad Hoc Committee, to reflect on all contributions and studies presented by various stakeholders and the relevant mechanisms which are necessary for the realization of its mandate."

"At its 14th meeting, on 8 December 2006, the Human Rights Council, recalling its resolution 1/5 of 30 June 2006, all resolutions of the General Assembly and of the Commission on Human Rights, in particular Assembly resolutions 57/195 of 18 December 2002 and 60/144 of 16 December 2005 and the resolution of the Third Committee of the General Assembly (A/C.3/61/L.53/Rev.1) adopted on 22 November 2006 as well as Commission resolution 2002/68 of 25 April 2002, on the subject, decided by a recorded vote of 33 to 12 with 1 abstention:

(a) To heed the decision and instruction of the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance by establishing an Ad Hoc Committee of the Human Rights Council on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards, with the mandate to elaborate, as a matter of priority and necessity, complementary standards in the form of either a convention or additional protocol(s) to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, filling the existing gaps in the Convention and also providing new normative standards aimed at combating all forms of contemporary racism, including incitement to racial and religious hatred;
(b) To recommend that the Ad Hoc Committee shall convene annual sessions of 10 working days to draw up the requisite legal instruments and hold its first session before the end of 2007 subject to the Working Group having completed its task on complementary standards by that date, and to report regularly to the Council on progress in the actual process of the elaboration of complementary standards;
(c) To welcome the recent appointment of the Five Experts on Complementary Standards by the High Commissioner for Human Rights with the mandate to produce a base document outlining the substantive gaps in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and make concrete recommendations on the means and avenues to bridge these gaps;
(d) To request the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action to invite the Five Experts to the first part of its fifth session, with the view of having a preliminary exchange of views and vision on complementary standards as a provisional measure pending the completion of their report;
(e) To request the Five Experts to finalize their report before the end of June 2007 for submission to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and also to request the latter to ensure immediate circulation of the report of the experts, in all official languages, to all Governments and all other relevant partners and stakeholders in order to allow all these institutions adequate opportunity and time to study the recommendations contained therein;
(f) To recommend that the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action convene the second part of its fifth session in September 2007 and that this session mark the conclusion and closure of the Working Group's debates and deliberations on the question of complementary standards;
(g) To invite, in the above context, the Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action to transmit the report of the Five Experts to the Ad Hoc Committee through the Human Rights Council;
(h) To request that the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action continue its important work of ensuring the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action as mandated by Commission on Human Rights resolution 2002/68 of 25 April 2002 by focusing on other critical segments of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action that require immediate attention;
(i) To request that the Ad Hoc Committee convene its first session before the end of 2007 and use all the documents presented to it as background material for commencing its process of elaborating complementary standards, and that one of its main priorities be to ensure that the requisite legal instrument(s) is/are produced for negotiations;
(j) To request that the High Commissioner give visibility and a high profile to the Anti-Discrimination Unit within her Office and provide it with all the necessary and additional resources to ensure its effectiveness, particularly in view of the current challenges of racial and religious discrimination, so that the Unit ensures that the High Commissioner makes a positive contribution and plays a leadership role in the global efforts to combat all the resurgent scourges of racism;
(k) To retain this priority issue on its programme of work and to review progress at its fourth session."