UN marks Durban declaration anniversary with calls for action

The United Nations General Assembly held a high-level meeting on September 28, 2026, to mark 25 years since member states adopted the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres urging governments to strengthen anti-discrimination laws and address systemic discrimination. The framework was adopted in Durban, South Africa, in 2001. The anniversary meeting brought together representatives to reflect on progress and renew attention to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. The reports establish the commemoration and calls for further action, but do not confirm whether governments adopted a political declaration that had been expected at the meeting. Guterres called for effective implementation of equality laws and stronger institutions to enforce them. He also urged governments to confront the continuing effects of slavery, colonialism and racial discrimination through reparatory justice grounded in international human rights law, according to accounts of his remarks.