Timeless Racism: A Study of the Evolution of the Concept of Racism in the United Nations’ World Conferences Against Racism (1978-2001)

Abstract

Advocacy against racism has been a principal element of the human rights mechanism of the United Nations ever since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. This thesis examines the conceptualization of racism within two United Nations World Conferences Against Racism (1978 and 2001) that were designed within this mechanism and analyzes whether the conceptualization of racism changed between the two summits. The general claim of this thesis is that racism, as a highly normative concept, is directly influenced by historical socio-political developments, and concludes that the conferences in 1978 and 2001 each present a different approach to racism. In 1978, the concept of racism was deliberately shaped to support the United Nations' struggle against the social segregation policies in South Africa (apartheid). In 2001, however, the conference presented a much broader, and less implicit conceptualization of racism, as the conference was set in a period of transformation within the UN in regard to its human rights mechanism. With this comparative case-study, this thesis shows how socio-political currents, as well as the organization of the conference and the influence of individual delegations have the ability to cause significant fluctuations in the conceptualization and definition of racism, indicating that ideology within the framework of human rights is highly politicized and constantly shifting.