DURBAN + 10 COALITION: A Peoples and NGO Initiative to Commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action

To honor the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action at the United Nations World Conference Against Racism held in Durban, South Africa, and to continue the global fight against racism and xenophobia, a broad alliance of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from the United States and worldwide have joined together to form the Durban + 10 Coalition.


The Durban +10 Coalition strongly welcomes the UN General Assembly holding of a High Level meeting at the level of heads of state and government to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) on Thursday, September 22nd, 2011, with the theme "Victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance: recognition, justice and development."


The Durban + 10 Coalition unequivocally supports and embraces the advances embodied in the DDPA, and is dedicated to ensuring that the DDPA remains the cornerstone of the UN's program to combat racism. We see the DDPA as central to pressuring the governments of the world to adopt and thoroughly implement national plans of action to eradicate racial discrimination, inequity, colonialism, xenophobia and related intolerances. We further stand opposed to the slander and sabotage against the DDPA and 10th anniversary spearheaded by the United States, Canada, Israel and several members of the European Union, particularly Italy, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic, to suppress the rights and demands of the many groups protected by the DDPA, including Migrants, Indigenous Peoples, African and African descendant peoples for restitution and reparations and those of the Palestinian people for self-determination.


The Durban + 10 Coalition is organizing several days of activities in New York City from September 18th through September 22nd to celebrate the accomplishments of Durban, to further educate civil society in the United States and the world about the actual contents of the DDPA, which have been distorted over the past decade, and to pressure the governments of the world to honor their commitments to eradicate racism and xenophobia utilizing the Durban framework.


For more information on the Durban + 10 Coalition please email durban10coalition@gmail.com or visit www.durban10coalition.com.


The endorsing organizations of the Durban + 10 Coalition include the US Human Rights Network, National Lawyers Guild, World Against Racism Network, December 12th Movement, National Black United Front, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Durban Declaration and Programme of Action Watch Group, US Palestinian Community Network, African Canadian Legal Clinic, Malcolm X Center for Self-Determination, Mississippi Workers Center for Human Rights, Priority Africa Network, Black Alliance for Just Immigration, Mouvement International pour les Reparations, Black Workers for Justice, North Carolina Public Service Workers Union - UE Local 150, International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations, Independent Jewish Voices Canada, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, and Black Left Unity Network.