UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

The United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed with a series of worldwide events on 21 March every year.

It was proclaimed through a United Nations Resolution “Elimination of all forms of racial discrimination” adopted on 26 October 1966, six years after police had opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid “pass laws”.

The theme for the International Day 2017 is “racial profiling and incitement to hatred, including in the context of migration”.

Racial and ethnic profiling is defined as “a reliance by law enforcement, security and border control personnel on race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin as a basis for subjecting persons to detailed searches, identity checks and investigations, or for determining whether an individual is engaged in criminal activity” according to a report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism of 20 April 2015.   

Further information

United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 21 March