OEA/Ser.P
AG/RES. 1774 (XXXI-O/01)
5 June 2001
Original: Spanish

PREPARATION OF A DRAFT INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION AGAINST RACISM AND ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AND INTOLERANCE

(Resolution adopted at the third plenary session, held on June 5, 2001;
subject to review by the Style Committee)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

CONSIDERING that Article II of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, signed in Bogotá in 1948, states that all persons are equal before the law and have the rights and duties established therein, without distinction as to race, sex, language, creed, or any other factor;

HAVING SEEN the American Convention on Human Rights, signed in San José, Costa Rica, in 1969, Articles 1 and 2 of which prohibit discrimination for reasons of race, color, sex, language, religion, social origin, or any other condition;

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that operative paragraph 3 of resolution AG/RES. 1271 (XXIV-O/94) calls on the various organs, agencies, and entities of the OAS to adopt timely and effective measures to foster tolerance and eliminate racist and discriminatory behavior;

RECALLING that the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination was adopted by the United Nations in 1965, and that plans are being made to hold the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in South Africa, in 2001, as well as regional and subregional meetings in preparation for that Conference;

FURTHER TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that racist and discriminatory practices are incompatible with the effective exercise of representative democracy;

HAVING SEEN resolution AG/RES. 1712 (XXX-O/00), which entrusts the Permanent Council with "studying the need to prepare a draft inter-American convention to prevent, punish, and eradicate racism and all forms of discrimination and intolerance";

BEARING IN MIND that consultations with the member states on this subject have been initiated within the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs and that a number of them have replied to the questionnaire prepared for that purpose (CP/CAJP-1687/01 rev. 2);

CONSIDERING that it is imperative that the international legal framework be expanded and that national law be strengthened with a view to eliminating all forms of discrimination still existing in the Hemisphere;

BEARING IN MIND the diversity of ethnic groups and cultures that enhance societies in the Hemisphere, as well as the advisability of promoting harmonious relations among them;

CONSIDERING that the Organization should send a clear political signal in favor of eliminating all forms of discrimination; and

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT that the Heads of State and Government, at the Third Summit of the Americas, held in Quebec, Canada, in April 2001, reaffirmed their commitment to protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms and pledged to eradicate all forms of discrimination, including racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and other related intolerance in our societies,

RESOLVES:

1. To instruct the Permanent Council to continue its consideration of the need for a draft inter-American convention to prevent, punish, and eradicate racism and all forms of discrimination and intolerance.

2. To urge those member states that have not yet done so to reply as soon as possible to the questionnaire on the preparation of a Draft Inter-American Convention against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance (CP/CAJP-1687/01 rev. 2).

3. To request the Inter-American Juridical Committee to facilitate the work of the Permanent Council by preparing a study, taking into account the provisions of international legal instruments on the subject; the replies of member states to the questionnaire on the preparation of a draft inter-American convention against racism and all forms of discrimination and intolerance (document CP/CAJP-1687/00 rev. 1); the declarations and recommendations of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, to be held in South Africa in 2001; those of the Regional Conference of the Americas in preparation for the aforementioned World Conference, held in Chile in 2000; and any contributions made by other bodies of the inter-American system and civil society.

4. To recommend to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) that it continue to give special attention to this topic within the framework of inter-American legal instruments now in force.

5. To request the Permanent Council to present a report on the implementation of this resolution to the General Assembly at its thirty-second regular session.