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.
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