The General Assembly,
Reaffirming its objective set forth in the Charter of the United Nations to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion,
Reaffirming also its firm determination and its commitment to eradicate totally and unconditionally racism in all its forms, racial discrimination and apartheid,
Recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid, and the Convention against Discrimination in Education adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on 14 December 1960,
Recalling also its resolution 3057 (XXVIII) of 2 November 1973, on the first Decade for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination, and its resolution 38/14 of 22 November 1983, on the Second Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination,
Recalling further the two World Conferences to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination, held at Geneva in 1978 and 1983,
Bearing in mind the Report of the Second World Conference to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination,
Convinced that the Second World Conference represented a positive contribution by the international community towards attaining the objectives of the Decade, through its adoption of a Declaration and an operational Programme of Action for the Second Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination,
Noting with grave concern that despite the efforts of the international community, the principal objectives of the two Decades for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination have not been attained and that millions of human beings continue to this day to be the victims of varied forms of racism, racial discrimination and apartheid,
Deeply concerned about the current trend of the evolution of racism into discriminatory practices based on culture, nationality, religion or language,
Recalling, in particular, its resolution 46/85 of 16 December 1991,
Emphasizing once again the necessity of attaining all the objectives of the Second Decade,
Having considered the report submitted by the Secretary-General within the framework of the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Second Decade,
Firmly convinced of the need to take more effective and sustained international measures for the elimination of all forms of racism and racial discrimination and the total eradication of apartheid in South Africa,
Recognizing the importance of strengthening, where necessary, national legislation and institutions for the promotion of racial harmony,
Aware of the importance and the magnitude of the phenomenon of migrant workers, as well as the efforts undertaken by the international community to improve the protection of the human rights of migrant workers and members of their families,
Recalling the adoption at its forty-fifth session of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families,
Reaffirming the Declaration on Apartheid and its Destructive Consequences in Southern Africa, unanimously adopted by the General Assembly at its sixteenth special session, on 14 December 1989, which offers guidelines on how to end apartheid,
1. Declares once again that all forms of racism and racial discrimination, particularly in their institutionalized form, such as apartheid, or resulting from official doctrines of racial superiority or exclusivity, are among the most serious violations of human rights in the contemporary world and must be combated by all available means;
2. Urges all Governments to take all necessary measures to combat new forms of racism, in particular by ongoing adjustment of the methods used to combat them;
3. Decides that the international community, in general, and the United Nations, in particular, should continue to give the highest priority to programmes for combating racism, racial discrimination and apartheid and intensify their efforts, during the latter part of the Second Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination, to provide assistance and relief to the victims of racism and all forms of racial discrimination and apartheid;
4. Appeals to all Governments and to international and non-governmental organizations to increase and intensify their activities to combat racism, racial discrimination and apartheid and to provide relief and assistance to the victims of these evils;
5. Notes and commends the efforts made to coordinate all the programmes currently under implementation by the United Nations system that relate to the objectives of the Second Decade, and encourages the Coordinator for the Second Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination to continue his efforts;
6. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to accord special attention to the situation of migrant workers and members of their families and to include regularly in his reports all information on such workers;
7. Calls upon all Member States to consider signing and ratifying or acceding to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families as a matter of priority, to enable its early entry into force;
8. Requests the Secretary-General to continue the study on the effects of racial discrimination on the children of minorities, in particular those of migrant workers, in the field of education, training and employment, and to submit, inter alia, specific recommendations for the implementation of measures to combat the effects of that discrimination;
9. Also requests the Secretary-General to revise and finalize the draft model legislation for the guidance of Governments in the enactment of further legislation against racial discrimination, in the light of comments made by members of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination at its fortieth and forty-first sessions and to publish and distribute the text as soon as possible;
10. Renews its invitation to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to expedite the preparation of teaching materials and teaching aids to promote teaching, training and education activities on human rights and against racism and racial discrimination, with particular emphasis on activities at the primary and secondary levels of education;
11. Considers once again that all the parts of the Programme of Action for the Second Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination should be given equal attention in order to attain the objectives of the Second Decade;
12. Regrets that most of the activities scheduled for the period 1992-1993 have not been implemented because of lack of adequate resources;
13. Calls upon the international community to provide the Secretary-General with appropriate financial resources for efficient action against racism and racial discrimination;
14. Requests the Secretary-General to accord the highest priority to activities of a programme of action for a third decade to combat racism and racial discrimination, aiming at monitoring the transition from apartheid to a non-racist society in South Africa;
15. Also requests the Secretary-General, pursuant to General Assembly resolutions 42/47 of 30 November 1987, 44/52 of 8 December 1989 and 45/105 of 14 December 1990, to ensure that the necessary and additional resources are included in the programme budget for the biennium 1992-1993 to provide for the implementation of the activities of the Second Decade;
16. Further requests the Secretary-General to continue to accord the highest priority, in executing the plan of activities, to measures for combating apartheid;
17. Calls upon Governments to encourage further positive change in South Africa based on the guidelines set out in the Declaration on Apartheid and its Destructive Consequences in Southern Africa, in particular by maintaining effective and sustained international pressure against South Africa;
18. Invites all Governments, United Nations bodies, the specialized agencies and other intergovernmental organizations, as well as interested non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, to participate fully in the activities scheduled for the period 1990-1993 which have not yet been carried out;
19. Considers that voluntary contributions to the Trust Fund for the Programme for the Decade for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination are indispensable for the implementation of the above-mentioned programmes;
20. Notes with regret that, since its establishment, contributions to the Fund have been scarce despite repeated appeals by the Secretary-General;
21. Strongly appeals, therefore, to all Governments, organizations and individuals in a position to do so to contribute generously to the Fund, and to this end requests the Secretary-General to continue to undertake appropriate contacts and initiatives to encourage contributions;
22. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Second Decade and the launching of a third decade to combat racism and racial discrimination, and requests him to prepare a draft programme of action for the third decade and to submit it to the General Assembly at its forty-eighth session, taking into account, inter alia, the elements of the Programme of Action for the Second Decade that have not yet been implemented;
23. Invites the Commission on Human Rights at its forty-ninth session to recommend activities to be undertaken during the third decade to combat racism and racial discrimination;
24. Decides to keep the item entitled "Elimination of racism and racial discrimination" on its agenda and to consider it as a matter of highest priority at its forty-eighth session.
89th plenary meeting
16 December 1992
