STATEMENT
Human Rights Council 50th Session.
Item 9 - Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
Statement delivered by Ambassador Tine Mørch Smith, Permanent Representative of Norway on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic countries (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Sweden)
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5 July 2022
President,
I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic countries.
We welcome the comprehensive report of the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, which is an important contribution to the realization of a human rights-based implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
We stay fully committed to combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We fully agree with you that the use of distorted allegations of neo-Nazism as a pretext to justify territorial aggression is unacceptable and seriously undermines genuine attempts to combat neo-Nazism.
President,
Let me highlight one advice from the report which we find especially important: development actors should prioritize the meaningful participation, representation, and leadership of racially marginalized peoples, including indigenous peoples, in the creation of alternative approaches to development and human well-being.
In the report, we see no reference to gender issues linked to racism and discrimination in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Women and girls often face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination based on for instance their gender, race, and ethnicity. Is this an observation the Special Rapporteur shares?
Let me end by assuring that we will continue combating racism in our own countries, as well as internationally.
Thank you.