Opening Statement

12th session of Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action

OPENING STATEMENT

The European Union welcomes the convening of the 12th Session of the Inter-governmental Working Group, and would like to warmly welcome the re-election of the WG’s Chairman-Rapporteur, his Excellency Ambassador Mohamed Siad Doualeh. Wethank Ambassador Doualeh and the Secretariat for theirhard work in preparing for the session.

The EU remains strongly committed to the international fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, as well as to the promotion and protection of human rights for all without discrimination of any grounds. The respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, good governance and the rule of law, as wellasrespect for human rights are founding values of the European Union. The EU believes that the global fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, without singling out any region, is an issue that concern us all and in which the international community must be united. A multilateral and multi-stakeholder approach is therefore needed.

With these principles in mind, the EU looks forward to engage in this 12thsession of the IGWG which is unique in the sense that it will be entirely devoted to the work on the International Decade for People of African Descent.

The European Union welcomes the landmark consensus achieved with the adoptionof the General Assembly resolution on the Proclamation of the International Decade last December. The mandate given to the IGWG to develop a draft programme for the implementation of the International Decade is of crucial importance to the EU, as we have long been calling for a proper intergovernmental process to develop the program for the Decade on consensual basis. Only through true ownership and engagement of States can the decade be successfully prepared and implemented.

The EU will engage actively and constructively in this processas set forth in the UNGA resolution on the basis of all of the available inputs, including those from States and other stakeholders.To this end we have presented a non-paper with proposals for the Decadein response to the Chairman's request for submissions.

Of particular importance to the EU when addressing the challenges faced by people of African Descent is that priority be put into effective implementation of the national and international framework in combatting racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. The International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination is a key instrument in this regard and we need to step up its full and effective implementation worldwide, as this still remains a challenge to many countries.

Our proposals focus overall on forward-looking actions, inter alia on the need to strengthen national action to fight discriminationin relation tothe full enjoyment of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights for all, including those of African Descent; to sensitize people of African Descent and the wider society of their rights, as well as to raise awareness about the Decade at national, regional and international level.

While drafting the proposals we have taken into account both the Secretary General's report on how to make the International Decade effective, as well as the draft program of action developed by the WGPAD, despite our well-known concerns about the scope and nature of the latter.

Mr Chairman,

The EU remains committed to implementing the goals defined by the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Xenophobia and related intolerance.Looking ahead of the coming two weeks, we hope that the IGWG will focus on proposals that unite us, rather than on issues that have divided us in the past. We trust that Ambassador Doualeh in his capacity as the Chairman-Rapporteur will contribute to making sure that we can have meaningful discussions during this session, thanks to his experience and even-handed leadership, and we assure him of our full support in this regard.The EU stands ready to engage in an inclusive process of developing a consensualprogram for the Decade aiming at positive change on the groundin the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intoleranceeverywhere in the world.

Thank you