"Digital Technologies Have Amplified Hateful Narratives", Third Committee Hears
By UN Meetings Coverage an Press Releases (GA/SHC/4455)
November 2, 2026
General Assembly/ Third Committee, Eighty-First Session, 37th & 38th Meetings (AM & PM): Racism and xenophobia are resurging worldwide, as artificial intelligence threatens to entrench discrimination and digital platforms amplify hatred, United Nations experts warned the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, calling for urgent action to confront racial injustice and the enduring legacies of slavery and colonialism.
‘The International Community Still Has a Lot of Unfinished Work to Do’
“Digital technologies have amplified hateful narratives and misinformation”, warned James Ndirangu Waweru, Chair-Rapporteur of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, pointing to a resurgence of racism, xenophobia, intolerance and exclusion.
Conflict, displacement and social fragmentation disproportionately affect already marginalized communities, he said, adding: “For many millions of people of African descent, these challenges intersect with the enduring consequences of slavery, the trafficking and enslavement of Africans, colonialism and systemic racial discrimination.”
Despite advances in law and policy, people of African descent continue to face inequalities in access to justice, education, employment, housing and political participation, he reported, alongside attacks against cultural and religious identities. “The international community still has a lot of unfinished work to do”, he underscored.
Highlighting progress towards a draft United Nations Declaration on the Promotion, Protection and Full Respect of the Human Rights of People of African Descent, he reported that the Working Group had undertaken its second reading of the text. Addressing the legacies of slavery, several States stressed that reparations must go beyond financial compensation to encompass “remembrance, acknowledgement of historical wrongs, apologies, reconciliation and healing”.
“The pursuit of racial justice for people of African descent cannot be deferred indefinitely”, he declared, urging progress towards a meaningful declaration protecting their rights. “I just ask States to adopt the Nike formula. Just do it”, he added.
‘Past Discrimination’ Risks Becoming ‘Future Decisions’
“Twenty-five years after the adoption of the Durban Declaration, technology has transformed our societies, but the structural inequalities it sought to address persist and are being reproduced, amplified and embedded in digital environments and beyond”, warned Ashwini K.P., Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies — while presented as neutral and objective — are built with data and institutional processes shaped by historical inequalities, he continued. Developed in societies still shaped by colonialism, enslavement, apartheid and racial segregation, such technologies “risk encoding past discrimination into future decisions”.
The consequences are particularly concerning in policing, criminal justice and public services, he emphasized. “Algorithmic systems can disproportionately misidentify, surveil and profile racialized communities, while predictive technologies may replicate discriminatory policing.”
Online platforms have also accelerated the spread of racial hatred, he warned, with business models rewarding engagement regardless of harm. People of African descent, migrants, Roma, Muslims, Palestinians and Jewish people face discrimination and harassment online, while women and girls may experience overlapping racial and gender-based abuse.
Calling for regulation grounded in international human rights law, he urged States to move beyond voluntary commitments and adopt frameworks addressing the discriminatory effects of AI and digital technologies.
Neo-Nazism and related extremism are also evolving rapidly online, he cautioned, adding: “Contemporary manifestations increasingly involve transnational, decentralized and digitally connected networks, which use online platforms to spread hate.”
He called for stronger measures against racist hate speech, xenophobic political discourse and online extremist content, alongside investment in education, historical understanding and protection for journalists, human rights defenders and anti-racism advocates.
‘Decades of Progress’ Threatened by Funding Shortages
Reflecting on six decades since the adoption of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Gün Kut, Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, warned that persistent discrimination and financial constraints threaten its implementation.
“The drafters of the Convention showed remarkable foresight in establishing an international body of independent experts to address racial discrimination”, he said.
Yet ethnically motivated violence in armed conflict, racist hate speech — including by politicians and public figures — and discrimination against migrants and refugees remain serious concerns. Racial profiling and structural discrimination against Indigenous Peoples, people of African descent and other groups also persist.
“These are not abstract concerns. They affect people's everyday lives in all parts of the world and their ability to enjoy their human rights on an equal footing”, he asserted.
“Decades of progress in implementing the Convention are being put at risk by the chronic underfunding of the treaty body system, a situation further aggravated by the liquidity crisis”, he warned, calling for adequate and predictable resources.
The Convention established that racial discrimination is not merely a domestic concern, but a matter of international responsibility, he said, calling on Member States to continue supporting the Committee through cooperation, political commitment and adequate resources.
Delegates Demand Reparatory Justice, Stronger Political Will
In the ensuing interactive dialogue, the Netherlands’ representative stressed that “contemporary racism cannot be viewed in isolation from historical injustices, including slavery and the transatlantic slave trade”.
Nigeria’s delegate called for acknowledgement, accountability and reparatory justice, warning that the consequences of transatlantic slavery continue “to inform contemporary inequalities and manifestations of racial discrimination”. Kenya’s representative supported recognition of those legacies and inclusion of the African Group’s proposed definition of “afrophobia” in the draft declaration on the rights of people of African descent.
Cameroon’s delegate described repairing the injustices of Africa’s colonization as a “moral and legal imperative”, noting persistent deficits in political will to implement the Durban Programme of Action. South Africa’s representative similarly demanded stronger political commitment to combating racism and xenophobia.
Brazil’s speaker called for people of African descent, Indigenous Peoples and other minority groups to have a central place in the Sustainable Development Goals and beyond, while Liberia’s representative, speaking for the African Group, welcomed work against xenophobia targeting migrants and expressed concern over the treaty body’s financial constraints.
Highlighting national approaches, France’s delegate emphasized universalism and a new action plan containing 55 measures against racism, antisemitism and discrimination. Spain’s representative pointed to legislation addressing racism, antisemitism and other forms of discrimination. India’s delegate, meanwhile, urged greater attention to stereotyping, abuse and violence experienced by Indians abroad.
Israel Criticizes Treaty Body, Iran Warns against Selectivity
Israel’s representative accused the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination of weaponizing human rights, criticizing a member’s characterization of her country’s operation against Hamas as a “new Holocaust”. “More troubling still is the committee's irresponsible invocation of the crime of genocide”, she said, adding: “In doing so, the committee distorts the term, dilutes its meaning, and cynically uses the gravest of crimes as political shorthand.”
Iran’s delegate criticized the selective and incomplete implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, expressing concern over Islamophobia and the systematic discrimination and collective punishment inflicted on the Palestinian people. “The international community must address all forms of racism without double standards, selectivity or politicization”, he declared.
Also addressing the Committee were Claudia Fuentes Julio, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights; Salome Mbugua, Chair-Rapporteur of the Group of Independent Eminent Experts on the Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action; and Kadra Ahmed Hassan, Chair-Rapporteur of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
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