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Written question asked by Kevin McNamara (Labour) on Wednesday, 16 January 2002, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 23 January 2002. It was answered by Lord Hain (Labour) on Wednesday, 23 January 2002 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made in negotiating and translating the final text for the Declaration and Programme of Action agreed at the UN World Conference Against Racism held in Durban from 31st August to 8th December 2001; what preparations he has made to publish and distribute English and other language versions of the final text in the UK; what preparations he has made to consult with NGOs and minority ethnic organisations on the construction of a national plan of action based on these texts as required by the Durban agreement; and what his timescale is for consultation with (a) devolved administrations and (b) dependent territories. - Includes ref to www.ohchr.ch.
Answer

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in negotiating and translating the final text for the Declaration and Programme of Action agreed at the UN World Conference Against Racism held in Durban from 31 August to 8 December 2001; what preparations he has made to publish and distribute English and other language versions of the final text in the UK; what preparations he has made to consult NGOs and minority ethnic organisations on the construction of a national plan of action based on these texts as required by the Durban agreement; and what his time scale is for consultation with (a) devolved Administrations and (b) dependent territories. [29246] Peter Hain: The agreed Declaration and Programme of Action of the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) were published by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on 2 January. English, French and Spanish versions are currently available on the website of the OHCHR www.ohchr.ch. The UN General Assembly Third Committee will reconvene in February to adopt the documents formally. Home Office officials will hold a preliminary consultation with NGOs and others involved in the preparations for WCAR on 4 February to discuss, inter alia, publication and further translation of the documents in the UK and the construction of a national plan of action. The devolved Administrations, who were also consulted before Durban, have been invited to the 4 February meeting. The Home Office will send copies of the documents to the dependent territories for consultation once they have been formally adopted by the UN.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
29246; 378 c886-7W
Session
2001-02
Subjects
Devolution Distribution Languages Ethnic groups Publications Minority groups Racial discrimination United Nations UN resolutions Non-governmental organisations Conferences Translation services
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk