UN Creates Permanent Body to Address Challenges of Racism

The U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution Monday establishing a Permanent Forum of People of African Descent to provide expert advice on addressing the challenges of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance.

The resolution adopted by consensus by the 193-member world body also calls for the forum to serve as “a platform for improving the safety and quality of life and livelihoods of people of African descent” and their full inclusion in the societies where they live.

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The resolution approved Monday by the General Assembly says that despite efforts to combat racism, instances and various forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance remain widespread and should be condemned.

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“Any doctrine of racial superiority is scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust and dangerous and must be rejected, together with theories that attempt to determine the existence of separate human races,” it said.

The assembly called the global fight against racism “a matter of priority for the international community.”

The Permanent Forum of People of African Descent was given a series of mandates. They include helping to ensure “the full political, economic and social inclusion of people of African descent,” and providing expert advice and recommendations on addressing racism to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, the General Assembly’s main committees and U.N. agencies.

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