Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, was die movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) is a series of international events organized by UNESCO to promote struggle against racism ideologies and behaviours. Four conferences have been held so far, in 1978, 1983, 2001, and 2009. Founded after World War II and the Holocaust as a dependent body of the United Nations, UNESCO started as soon as it was created to promote scientific studies concerning ethnic groups and their diffusion in public opinion to dispel pseudo-scientific rationalizations of racism. One of its first published works was The Race Question in 1950, signed by various internationally renowned scholars.
A United Nations General Assembly Resolution is a decision or declaration voted on by all member states of the United Nations in the General Assembly.
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379, adopted on 10 November 1975 by a vote of 72 to 35, "determine[d] that Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination". The vote took place approximately one year after UNGA 3237 granted the PLO Permanent Observer status, following PLO president Yasser Arafat's "olive branch" speech to the General Assembly in November 1974. The resolution was passed with the support of the Soviet bloc, in addition to the Arab- and Muslim-majority countries, many African countries, and a few others.
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 1995 the United Nations Year for Tolerance with UNESCO as the lead organization.
The 2001 World Conference against Racism (WCAR), also known as Durban I, was held at the Durban International Convention Centre in Durban, South Africa, under UN auspices, from 31 August to 8 September 2001.
Human rights are largely respected in Switzerland, one of Europe's oldest democracies. Switzerland is often at or near the top in international rankings of civil liberties and political rights observance. Switzerland places human rights at the core of the nation's value system, as represented in its Federal Constitution. As described in its FDFA's Foreign Policy Strategy 2016-2019, the promotion of peace, mutual respect, equality and non-discrimination are central to the country's foreign relations.
The year 2001 was declared the International Year of Mobilization against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance by the United Nations General Assembly.
International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, is an international day celebrated August 23 of each year, the day designated by UNESCO to memorialize the transatlantic slave trade.
The Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination is a human rights proclamation issued by the United Nations General Assembly, outlining that body's views on racism. It was adopted by the General Assembly on 20 November 1963. The Declaration was an important precursor to the legally binding Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Durban III is an informal name for a high-level United Nations General Assembly meeting marking the 10th anniversary of the adoption of The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action that was held in New York City on 22 September 2011. It was mandated in 2009 by United Nations General Assembly (GA) resolution 64/148 to commemorate the World Conference against Racism 2001, and given additional form and visibility by a GA Third Committee draft resolution adopted on 24 November 2010. It followed the Durban Review Conference, the official name of the 2009 United Nations World Conference Against Racism (WCAR), also known as Durban II.
The Slave Route Project is a UNESCO initiative that was officially launched in 1994 in Ouidah, Benin. It is rooted in the mandate of the organization, which believes that ignorance or concealment of major historical events constitutes an obstacle to mutual understanding, reconciliation and cooperation among peoples. The project breaks the silence surrounding the slave trade and slavery that has affected all continents and caused great upheavals that have shaped our modern societies. In studying the causes, the modalities and the consequences of slavery and the slave trade, the project seeks to enhance the understanding of diverse histories and heritages stemming from this global tragedy.
The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery international day is a yearly event on December 2, organized since 1986 by the United Nations General Assembly.
Reparations for slavery is the application of the concept of reparations to victims of slavery and/or their descendants. There are concepts for reparations in legal philosophy and reparations in transitional justice. Throughout history reparations for slavery have been both given by legal ruling in court and/or given voluntarily by individuals and institutions. Reparations can take numerous forms, including: individual monetary payments, settlements, scholarships, waiving of fees, and systemic initiatives to offset injustices, land-based compensation related to independence, apologies and acknowledgements of the injustices, token measures, such as naming a building after someone, or the removal of monuments and renaming of streets that honor slave owners and defenders of slavery.
The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) is a United Nations convention. A third-generation human rights instrument, the Convention commits its members to the elimination of racial discrimination and the promotion of understanding among all races. The Convention also requires its parties to outlaw hate speech and criminalize membership in racist organizations.
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3010 (XXVII) was a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 December 1972. The resolution adopted to make the year 1975 International Women's Year.
The United Nations General Assembly declared the year 2011 as International Year for People of African Descent. That year also marked the 10th anniversary of the World Conference Against Racism, which approved a resolution stating that slavery along with the colonization that sustained it were crimes against humanity.
The International Decade for People of African Descent, 2015–2024, was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in a Resolution (68/237) adopted on 23 December 2013. The theme of the International Decade is "People of African descent: recognition, justice and development".
1968 was declared the International Year of Human Rights by UNESCO, with the principal goal of bringing attention to the state of human rights throughout the world. On its XX session on March 17–18, 1964, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights considered the decision of the United Nations General Assembly's Eighteenth session to proclaim an International Year of Human Rights and recommended the establishment of a committee in preparation of celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the organisation of an international conference on human rights.
The Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on September 13, 1999. This occurred after ten months of negotiations in the context of preparations for the International Year for the Culture of Peace.
