2019 Theme: Mitigating and countering rising nationalist populism and extreme supremacist ideologies.
Racist extremist movements based on ideologies that seek to promote populist, nationalist agendas are spreading in various parts of the world, fueling racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, often targeting migrants and refugees as well as people of African descent.
In its recent resolution on eliminating racism [pdf], the United Nations General Assembly reiterated that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and have the potential to contribute constructively to the development and well-being of their societies. The resolution also emphasized that 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.
The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, E. Tendayi Achiume, in her recent report on nationalist populism [pdf], analyzed the threat posed by nationalist populism to the fundamental human rights principles of non-discrimination and equality. She condemned nationalist populism that advances exclusionary or repressive practices and policies that harm individuals or groups on the basis of their race, ethnicity, national origin and religion, or other related social categories.
In her report on glorification of Nazism online, Ms. Achiume identified recent trends and manifestations of glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fueling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. She highlighted States’ obligations under human rights law to counter such extreme ideologies online, as well as the responsibilities of technology companies in the light of human rights principles.
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