UN OFFICIALS TAKE PART IN AFRICAN MEETING ON COMBATING RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA

UN OFFICIALS TAKE PART IN AFRICAN MEETING ON COMBATING RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA New York, Aug 24 2008 3:10PM United Nations officials, representatives of African governments and civil society experts have gathered in Nigeria today for a three-day conference on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance.

The regional meeting, taking place in the capital, Abuja, serves as part of the preparations for a major global conference on racism and related issues that is scheduled to take place next April in Geneva.

The Geneva event will act as a review of the landmark 2001 conference on the same issue that was held in Durban, South Africa, where a Declaration and Plan of Action were adopted to try to combat the effects of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance.

The review process is designed to identify concrete measures and initiatives that can and should be taken to combat these phenomena. It will also assess the effectiveness of existing mechanisms and promote the universal ratification and implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
2008-08-24 00:00:00.000

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