UN leaders renew push to defeat racism, 25 years after Durban

The United Nations continues to fight racism and racial discrimination, including through the landmark anti-racism Durban Declaration., adopted in South Africa in 2001.

“No country is free of racism.” That warning from US youth activist Marley Dias set the tone on Monday as UN Member States reinvigorated global efforts against racism, discrimination and xenophobia with a new declaration.

During the meeting, Ms. Dias, founder of #1000BlackGirlBooks, urged States to confront the enduring legacies of slavery, colonialism and discrimination, emphasising many young people have never been taught the histories that shaped the institutions and societies they inherited.

Recalling that she launched #1000BlackGirlBooks when she was 11 – because she could not find girls like herself in books at school – she underscored the power of representation and education.

Further, youth must be central to full implementation of the Durban Declaration, she said, including through accurate and accessible digital educational materials.

“Let’s write a new chapter together,” she said.

The 2001 adoption of the Durban Declaration followed widespread and grave concern over entrenched racism since the UN’s inception, from colonialism to 46 years of South African apartheid.

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