A/HRC/6/10
page 8
21. The representative of the Belgian Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to
Racism presented the national action plan against racism of Belgium which was currently being
drafted and included references, targets and contents of provisions from the Durban Declaration
and Programme of Action. He spoke about the advantages of having an independent public
institution draft the national action plan, and detailed the working methods used by the Centre.
He also highlighted the importance of including all stakeholders in the process; establishing a
national follow-up commission; and making the national action plan a structural element to
ensure continuity over time. He commented that the Durban Declaration and Programme of
Action was a declaration of intent and that it would be very useful to have some minimum
standards of a binding nature.
22. The Executive Director of Minority Rights Group International explored a range of
experience in national action plans. He flagged six crucial points to be taken into account in
developing national action plans. The first point was recognition: in many States, recognition of
certain groups was a controversial subject. It was, however, exceptionally difficult to assist or
protect a group without first recognizing that group. The second point was disaggregated data:
while they were essential for understanding the extent of marginalization, the gathering of data
needed to be undertaken in consultation with the communities concerned. Third, participation:
consulting and involving the concerned community was essential for States in order to take
focused and effective action. Fourth, measures to prevent discrimination and special measures to
address it; there was a need for a legal regime to address equality of opportunity and a set of
programmes for positive action. Fifth, targets: it was important to establish some form of target
in order to monitor progress over time. The sixth point was institutional implementation
mechanisms: each national plan of action required a budget adequate for the actions envisaged
by it. Institutional mechanisms, such as ministers, parliamentary committees and committees
involving members of the group targeted in the plan were also needed to move the actions
identified in the national action plan forward.
23. During the discussion and debate which followed the presentations, State representatives
presented overviews of the national action plans developed in their own countries. Some
delegates addressed issues regarding racial profiling, national security, migration and
discrimination. One delegate expressed the view that national security should be used as an
argument to promote the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.
A panellist noted that the topic of undocumented migrants presented a whole separate series of
difficult issues, and that the issue of migration was addressed by another agency of the
United Nations.
24. The themes of urbanization and spatial segregation were also examined during the
discussion. One panellist noted that, in countries where communities were highly segregated, it
was always the result of exclusion rather than voluntary segregation.
25. The need to involve non-State actors in developing anti-discrimination policy was
mentioned by a panellist, as was the importance of putting human rights education at the centre
of such a policy. Issues surrounding the use of mother-tongue languages and integration versus
assimilation were also addressed.
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents