On 13 January 2025, the Chair of CDADI, Erik ADELL HELLSTRÖM, took part in a number of meetings at the premises of the United Nations in Geneva.
The meetings included an exchange with the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism Ashwini K.P. (India), which covered core-strands of the work of the CDADI including topics such as online hate speech, equality and artificial intelligence and intersectional discrimination.
The CDADI Chair furthermore intervened in the opening of the 23rd Session of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) is the fundamental UN document to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance globally. The statement of the CDADI Chair highlighted the achievements and contributions of CDADI in this field, in particular the recently finalised standards on hate crime, hate speech, intercultural inclusion, political participation of national minority youth and equality for Roma and Traveller women and girls. It also covered the work that is done for the implementation of those standards.
This intervention and further exchanges with representatives of the UN also served to prepare for the 25th commemoration of the DDPA, which will take place in 2026, and to co-ordinate further action and mutually reinforce action and impact in the fields of promoting equality and combating racism.
