WCR/RCONF/TEHRAN/2001/L.1/Rev.1
21 February 2001
Original: ENGLISH
Asian Preparatory Meeting
for the World Conference against
Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia
and Related Intolerance
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
19-21 February 2001
Recognizing the urgent need to translate the objectives of the Declaration into a practical and workable Plan of Action, we therefore, recommend that the World Conference:
1. Urge States to adopt or strengthen as required, as a matter of high priority, laws, policies and measures aimed at countering and eradicating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
2. Urge States, regional and international organizations and civil society to promote respect for multi-racial, multi-cultural, and multi-ethnic aspects of societies and to spread human rights awareness, with a view to combating all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
3. Urge States to respect justice and equity at both national and international levels and reject policies of double standards, particularly in regard to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
4. Urge States to amend, rescind or nullify, as required, laws and regulations which create, perpetuate or contribute to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
5. Urge States to adopt and implement strictly, stringent laws against political platform and ideologies based on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance or doctrines of racial or national superiority;
6. Urge States to establish and strengthen, where required, national human rights institutions and Ombudpersons and such other entities, to address problems connected to endemic racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and assist victims of such discrimination in areas of their jurisdiction;
7. Request States to take necessary measures to denounce, actively discourage and prohibit the transmission of racist and xenophobic messages through all communications media, including new communications technologies such as the Internet;
8. Invite the world media to establish and disseminate through its relevant associations and organizations an ethical code of conduct with a view to prohibiting the proliferation of ideas of superiority, justification of racial hatred and discrimination in any form and promoting mutual respect and tolerance among all peoples;
9. Urge all actors on the international scene to build an international order based on inclusion, justice and equity, mutual understanding and respect, and to reject outdated doctrines of exclusion based on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
10. Urge States to take the necessary legislative, administrative and judicial measures, in accordance with their obligations under relevant international human rights instruments, to combat and actively discourage all forms or manifestations of racial hatred, xenophobia or racial discrimination as an affirmation of their commitment to democracy;
11. Call upon States parties to fully respect and comply with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and encourage all States that are not yet parties to consider acceding to this Convention;
12. Urge States to establish national programs to promote the access, without any discrimination, of migrants and other racial, ethnic, national, cultural and linguistic groups or minorities and indigenous populations, where they exist, to basic social services including primary education and basic health care;
13. Urge the World Conference to propose special measures, for consideration by States, for the victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance to rectify their disadvantaged position in their society;
14. Call upon States to adopt or strengthen, as required, laws, strategies, programs and policies including affirmative action, to promote and protect the rights of victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance including their effective access to justice and judicial remedies, free from racial discrimination of any kind;
15. Strongly urge States which pursued policies or practices based on racial or national superiority, such as colonial or other forms of alien domination or foreign occupation, slavery, slave trade, ethnic cleansing, to assume their full responsibility and provide prompt, adequate and fair reparation and compensation to those States, communities and individuals who were victims of such policies or practices, regardless of when they were committed;
16. Urge States to adopt necessary measures, as provided by national law, to ensure the rights of victims to prompt, adequate and fair reparation and compensation for acts of racism and racial discrimination;
17. Strongly urge States to take effective international measures to guarantee the implementation of human rights standards and the elimination of all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, Apartheid and related intolerance, in respect of peoples under colonial or other forms of alien domination or foreign occupation, particularly those under an occupation based on racist, ethnic and settler ideology, in accordance with the rules of international law, international humanitarian law and the international conventions in relation with the elimination of all forms of racism and racial discrimination, xenophobia, Apartheid and related intolerance as they constitute a crime against humanity;
18. Urge States to give special attention for the promotion and protection of the human rights of persons subject to multiple forms of discrimination which combines racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance with other forms of discrimination;
19. Urge States to provide protection and address the situation of children, women and young people who suffer from racial discrimination in the formulation of national programs of action against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
20. Urge international organizations, within their mandate, to contribute to the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
21. Urge States to prevent through all appropriate means, stereotyping of any ethnic, racial, national, cultural and linguistic group, and encourage objective and balanced portrayals of people, events and history, especially in the media, recognizing the profound influence that such portrayals have on societal perceptions of groups whose members are frequently victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
22. Urge States to prevent and eliminate, where they exist, racially discriminatory policies and practices in access to employment and occupation;
23. Encourage States to formulate policies, where necessary, to promote and protect the human rights of ethnic, national, linguistic, racial and cultural minorities, indigenous people and migrants, including their rights to maintain their cultural identity and observe their values and traditions;
24. Encourage States, regional and international organizations including financial institutions, as well as civil society, to develop a mechanism to address those aspects of globalization which may lead to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
25. Urge States to commit themselves to the progressive realization, without discrimination, of full access to free primary education for all nationals particularly children without any discrimination based on race, colour, descent culture, language or national or ethnic origin;
26. Urge States to harness the power of education and adopt, as appropriate, training programs and develop educational materials aimed at combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. In this context, call upon States to amend suitably the textbooks and other such educational materials that perpetuate racial stereotypes or encourage xenophobia;
27 Urge States to develop social policies, as appropriate, in order to encourage stable and harmonious relationships between different nations, peoples and groups, fostering mutual understanding, solidarity, tolerance, and development of a culture of peace;
28. Urge States to promote the implementation of the UN Declaration and Programme of Action on a culture of peace and the objectives of the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and non-violence for the children of the World (2001-2010);
29. Request States wherever appropriate through cooperation with inter-governmental organizations and national institutions to organize and facilitate training courses or seminars on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance for prosecutors, law enforcement officials, members of the judiciary and other public employees;
30. Urge all States to adopt and implement, as necessary, national legislation and administrative measures that expressly and specifically counter racism and prohibit racial discrimination in all spheres of public life;
31. Encourage all States and relevant international organizations to initiate and develop cultural and educational programs aimed at countering racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and enhancing mutual understanding amongst various cultures and civilizations;
32. Urge States to disseminate information, through appropriate means including the use of media and school curricula, to promote a spirit of respect for diversity and inclusiveness amongst the various racial, ethnic, national, linguistic and cultural groups;
33. Recommend that high-level international meetings be held alternately in all regions of the world on Dialogue among Civilizations;
34. Encourage the creation of an international foundation for the Dialogue among Civilizations to initiate educational, scientific and cultural plans aiming at the promotion of the inter-cultural dialogue and beneficial exchanges between different civilizations which will consequently promote tolerance and friendship amongst various racial, ethnic, national, linguistic, and cultural groups;
35. Recommend that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, within its mandate and in consultation with States, specialized agencies, regional and intergovernmental organizations and NGOs, propose a creative, inexpensive and efficient information strategy to increase the level of awareness about the goals and objectives of the World Conference;
36. Request the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in the context of the International Year for the Mobilization against Racism, to organize high-level world cultural meetings involving relevant organizations in the field of sports, culture, music, art, literature as well as universities and national institutions;
37. Request the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to create a database on its website which contains information on the struggle against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, particularly in relation to international and regional instruments and national legislation, educational and preventive programs implemented in various countries and regions, opportunities for technical cooperation, academic studies and specialized documents;
38. Invite the Inter-Parliamentary Union to contribute to the activities of the International Year for Mobilization against Racism by encouraging debates in national parliaments on the objectives of the Conference;
39. Encourage States to adopt policies to address the issue of social violence based on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
40. Urge States to initiate public information campaigns to promote respect for the values of diversity, pluralism, tolerance, mutual respect, cultural sensitivity, integration and inclusiveness;
41. Urge States, non-governmental organizations, cultural institutions, communications media and all sectors of society to contribute to the elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
42. Call upon the General Assembly to comprehensively review the full implementation of its Declaration and Plan of Action.