Remarks by H.E. Annalena Baerbock
President of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
at the commemorative meeting of the General Assembly
to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
23 March 2026 at 10.00 a.m.
General Assembly Hall, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Headquarters
Mr. Secretary-General,
High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Excellencies,
Dear invited guests,
Desmond Tutu once said:
¡°Peace cannot exist without justice, and justice cannot exist where discrimination persists.¡±
Those words capture the very spirit of today¡¯s commemoration, which marks sixty years since the United Nations established the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
A day born out of tragedy¡
and out of courage.
On 21 March 1960, in Sharpeville, a township outside Johannesburg, thousands gathered to peacefully protest racist, apartheid-era laws.
They came armed not with weapons, but with conviction.
Not to divide society, but to claim their dignity within it.
Sixty-nine people lost their lives standing against injustice.
But this day is about much more than Sharpeville.
It is about all of our nations and communities ¡ª none of which are immune to the scourge of racism.
We see this today in racial profiling¡
In the forced assimilation of ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples¡
In dehumanizing narratives around migrants and refugees¡
In social media algorithms that perpetuate prejudice¡
Clearly¡ racism persists¡ in every corner of the world.
Sometimes it is explicit and vulgar ¨C
an obscenity hurled at another, or graffiti scrawled across a wall.
Sometimes it is quiet and discreet ¨C
masked in bureaucracy and hidden within the ordinary.
But whether loud or silent,
it is sinister¡
it is damaging¡
And its consequences extend far beyond individuals.
When children are made to feel, from their first day in school, that they are different or don¡¯t belong, their enthusiasm diminishes¡ their potential is stymied.
When communities face discriminatory barriers to housing, healthcare, or employment, opportunities are diminished, and inequality is deepened.
When the foundations of development are unjust, the seeds of division, instability, and conflict are sown.
Indeed, racism strikes at the very principles this Hall was built to defend.
It is a violation of human rights.
A barrier to sustainable development.
And a threat to peace and security.
That is precisely why the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development commits us to leaving no one behind.
And why generation after generation has sought to confront racism through international law.
From the Charter of the United Nations¡
to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights¡
to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination¡and the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.
Increasingly our laws and agreements also address the intersectionality of discrimination ¨C so-called double discrimination¡which was recognized again in the outcome document of this year¡¯s Commission on the Status of Women. It emphasizes efforts to eliminate ¡°¡and any kind of discrimination against women and girls, including racial discrimination.¡±
As I have said when speaking about antisemitism or islamophobia, discrimination of any kind is not only about defending one community.
It is about defending our shared humanity.
Because discrimination never stops with one group.
Whether it appears as racism, islamophobia, antisemitism, sexism, homophobia, or any other form of hatred, it follows the same logic and leads to the same end: dehumanization.
That is why it concerns all of us and why we must act and take a firm stand against discrimination whenever and wherever it appears.
In doing so, we acknowledge, also, an uncomfortable truth:
The struggle against discrimination in all its forms, including racism, is never finished.
It is not a destination we reach once and for all.
It is a constant process ¨C
one decision, one action after another ¨C every day,
requiring vigilance, determination, and courage ¨C every day in every situation.
That means continuing to confront systemic discrimination, strengthening accountability and transparency, and investing in the foundations of equality.
It also means asking ourselves difficult questions:
What does racism look like today?
Where are we falling short, ourselves, in daily life?
And what more must we do to build societies rooted in justice and dignity for all?
Like those who not only went to the streets of Sharpeville, but gave their lives for what it meant¡
That peace could not exist without justice,
and justice could not exist where discrimination persisted.
I thank you.
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International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
