Steps taken by the government to tackle racism

Substantial measures are being taken to improve the human rights situation of people of African descent in several countries worldwide. These are achievements reported by States, human rights bodies, mechanisms and specialized agencies of the United Nations system, regional organizations, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations. Through these steps, it is hoped that these measures will serve as inspiration for other countries to effectively implement national and international legal frameworks, policies and programmes to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance faced by people of African descent.

Legislative actions

Uruguay has passed a legislation on affirmative action policies to ensure that individuals of African origin have equal access to higher education and the public labour market, with a quota of at least 8% set aside for them. With the acknowledgement and support of black communities, African people, and persons of African heritage in Spain, the Spanish Congress of Deputies has enacted a law on the remembrance of slavery.

Plans of action at the national level and other policies

Argentina, Costa Rica, Honduras, Italy, Lithuania, Mexico, Peru, Serbia, and Uruguay have all established national anti-discrimination action plans, as well as plans geared explicitly at promoting the rights of individuals of African origin. Portugal has taken steps to aid the assimilation of migrants, many of whom are said to be of African ancestry, into Portuguese society. The national programme for equality and non-discrimination in Mexico, which runs from 2014 to 2018, has 13 courses of action for the Afro-descendant community, including increasing the participation of Afro-descendant and indigenous women in politics and positions of public representation.

Complaint mechanisms and monitoring bodies

The National Council of Afro-Bolivians was established in Bolivia to address the interests and problems of this population group. The Office of the Presidential Commissioner for Matters Relating to Persons of African Descent, according to Costa Rica, is a permanent institutional framework responsible for coordinating activity aimed at individuals of African descent. Greece established the National Board Against Racism and Intolerance, which collaborates with the Greek Ombudsman, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and non-governmental organisations to develop a national anti-racist strategy. Portugal established the National Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination as a platform for disseminating legal information in response to discriminatory treatment.

The Australian Human Rights Commission appointed a Race Discrimination Commissioner, whose mandate is to investigate complaints under anti-discrimination legislation, thereby providing a free and impartial mechanism for parties to resolve complaints about alleged racial discrimination. In South Africa and the United Kingdom, commissions or ombudspersons have been established to respond to public complaints about discrimination.

United Nations System

Every year, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights hosts a fellowship for people of African descent, which provides participants with an opportunity to learn more about the United Nations human rights system, with a focus on issues that are particularly important to people of African descent.

In December 2016, on the occasion of Human Rights Day, DGC co-sponsored a film night with the Permanent Mission of Jamaica, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, and the African Diaspora International Film Festival, which featured short films by young African diaspora filmmakers.

UNESCO has created pedagogical content based on the General History of Africa for various levels of schooling in order to address the problem.