| Date | 19 December 2006 |
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Agenda item 65
Elimination of racism and racial discrimination
Report of the Third Committee (A/61/441)
The President
The Assembly has before it three draft resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 23 of its report. We will now take a decision on draft resolutions I, II and III.
Draft resolution I is entitled "Inadmissibility of certain practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance". A recorded vote has been requested.
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| abstain |
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Draft resolution I was adopted by 121 votes to 4, with 60 abstentions (resolution 61/147).
favour=121 against=4 abstain=60 absent=7
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
The President
Draft resolution II is entitled "International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination". The Third Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?
The President
Draft resolution III is entitled "Global efforts for the total elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action". A recorded vote has been requested.
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Draft resolution III was adopted by 179 votes to 2, with 4 abstentions (resolution 61/149).
favour=179 against=2 abstain=4 absent=7
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
The President
I give the floor to the representative of Finland, who wishes to make a statement in explanation of vote after the voting.
Mr. Jokinen (Finland)
It was our intention to explain our vote before the voting, but, with your indulgence, Madam President, I will do so now.
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The acceding countries Bulgaria and Romania, the candidate countries the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the countries of the Stabilization and Association Process and potential candidates Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries Iceland and Liechtenstein members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and Moldova, align themselves with this declaration.
As a result of developments that have taken place since the Third Committee ended its session, it has become necessary for the European Union to speak in explanation of vote regarding the draft resolution entitled "Global efforts for the total elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action".
The European Union attaches the highest importance to combating all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. Over the years we have set up a number of institutions and policies to meet this important goal. To mention just one recent example, the year 2007 has been designated by the European Union as the European year for equal opportunities for all -- a year devoted to combating all types of discrimination.
The European Union is firmly committed to the implementation of the Declaration and Programme and Action of the Durban World Conference. In accordance with our policies of combating racism and promoting human rights and multilateral, we have made a concrete, realistic and constructive follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. We have repeatedly stressed that, in the light of the gravity of the subject, the follow-up must be agreed by consensus and has to be carried out as a joint effort of the whole international community. Attempts to politicize the issue should be utterly rejected by all those who are genuinely committed to moving forward together on this crucial issue.
Less than three weeks ago, the Third Committee of the General Assembly adopted draft resolution III contained in report A/61/441 on global efforts for the total elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, presented by the Russian Federation and South Africa on behalf of the member States of the Group of 77 and the People's Republic of China.
The European Union had a number of serious concerns regarding the proposals put forward in the negotiations. However, we resolved to negotiate in good faith and sought actively to engage all delegations, including the main sponsors, so as to overcome differences and reach a conclusion that could be supported by all delegations and would make a genuine contribution to the comprehensive implementation and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.
The European Union was able to vote in favour of the draft resolution, as we have done in previous years, on the basis of the following understanding, which the main sponsors of the draft resolution assured us was the framework within which it would be put to effect.
First, the review of the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action would be conducted in the framework of the General Assembly. Secondly, the review would focus on the implementation of what was agreed at Durban and would not involve any reopening of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. Thirdly, any preparatory work done by the Human Rights Council would not entail the creation of new mechanisms. Fourthly, the Human Rights Council would use for that end its relevant existing follow-up mechanisms, especially the intergovernmental working group on the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. Fifthly, the further study of the content and scope of substantive and procedural gaps for combating racism, as identified by the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, would be carried out by a group of five experts, who would produce a base document containing concrete recommendations on the means by which such gaps could be bridged, including, but not limited to, the possible drafting of an additional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination or the adoption of new instruments.
It was with profound dismay and surprise that the European Union, having participated in good faith in the negotiations in the General Assembly, learned a few days later of two texts, contained in documents A/HRC/3/L.2 and A/HRC/3/L.3, which had been submitted at the third session of the Human Rights Council by some of the main sponsors of the draft resolution just adopted by the Third Committee, with the support of 174 States Members of the United Nations. These texts completely contradicted both the spirit and the letter of draft resolution III in report A/61/441 and the agreed understanding explained earlier, as well as the consensus reached in Geneva at the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. Such a breach of trust casts doubt on the commitment of those States to pursue a consensus approach on this issue.
We note once again that the most effective way forward is one in which all members of the international community can participate equally.
In Geneva, the European Union sought to engage the sponsors of the Human Rights Council draft resolutions in negotiations with the objective of bringing the text into agreement with the draft resolution adopted by the Third Committee. To our deep regret, our efforts met with inexplicable indifference. For obvious reasons, neither text managed to reach anything close to consensus at the Human Rights Council. We were compelled to join other delegations in voting against them.
The European Union would like to draw the attention of delegations to the fact that operative paragraphs 33 and 36 of the present resolution reflect the agreement that was reached among delegations to the Third Committee on the review of the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, and on the process through which the framework for combating racism is to be further developed.
It is the understanding of the European Union that this review and this process will take place transparently and by consensus, in accordance with the provisions of operative paragraphs 33 and 36, respectively, of the present resolution. Those paragraphs form the basis on which the European Union was able to vote in favour of the draft resolution in the Third Committee. Any reinterpretation of this understanding is unacceptable.
We call on the sponsors of draft resolution III to take the necessary steps in Geneva to restore the agreed course of action and ensure that the resolution just adopted by the General Assembly is properly implemented so that the Human Rights Council and the Third Committee may continue to work towards the same goal in a cohesive and coherent manner.
As we stated in the beginning of this explanation, the European Union attaches great importance to combating racism in all its forms. We intend to take an active part in the implementation of the present resolution. In doing so, we will firmly resist any effort to exploit this issue for political gain. Let us be clear. The fact that the assurances made to us by some delegations in New York were broken in Geneva is unacceptable. Negotiations cannot prosper in an atmosphere of bad faith. For its part, the European Union will continue to negotiate in good faith. We expect the same from others.
It was on that basis that the European Union was able to vote in favour of draft resolution III, just adopted by the General Assembly.
The President
May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 65?
