International response to racial discrimination: potentialsand limitations of the United Nations Race Convention

Abstract

Ethnic and racial minorities living in Europe are vulnerableto racial discrimination and harassment. This paper reviews theeffectiveness of the international legal response to racial discrimination.Specifically, the International Convention on the Elimination ofAll Forms of Racial Discrimination (Race Convention), the centrepieceof the international human rights treaty to combating racial discrimination,is discussed. We argue that the Convention is relevant since itcontains comprehensive and legally standards to combat worldwideracial discrimination. It complements other international legalinstruments such as the EU Race Directives, the Framework Conventionand the Protocol 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights.International human rights treaties like the Race Convention wouldbecome toothless if they do not have active support from the civilsociety. Social workers across Europe ought to become active partnerswith the United Nations in advancing human rights of the racialminorities.