ABSTRACT
The focus of the Florence lectures has been on Europe, including the new legal obligations to be undertaken by EU member states on the elimination of racial and ethnic discrimination. A review of international human rights approaches to the elimination of racism and racial discrimination must begin with the acknowledgement that the world community is a long way from achieving one component of the basic message of human rights—that of the equal dignity of all human beings. The United Nations Charter gave as one purpose of the new world organization the achievement of international cooperation 'in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion'. International efforts to tackle racism and racial discrimination should be first considered in the context of the UN Charter's endorsement of the principle of human equality. The UN was born in the aftermath of the defeat of Nazism, a racist ideology.
