The First Session of the Preparatory Committee adopted the following five broad themes for the provisional agenda: 1. Sources, causes, forms and contemporary manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
2. Victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
3. Measures of prevention, education and protection aimed at the eradication of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance at national, regional and international levels.
4. Provision of effective remedies, recourse, redress and other [compensatory] measures, at national, regional and international levels.
5. Strategies to achieve full and effective equality, including international co-operation and enhancement of the UN and other international mechanisms in combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, including follow-up procedures.
*Note that the word "compensatory" in theme 4 is in square brackets because there was no general agreement for including this term.

The conference was a unique opportunity to create a new world vision for the fight against racism in the twenty-first century. The World Conference Against Racism is the third UN Conference on racism following the World Conference to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination in 1978 and the second World Conference to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination in 1983. More recently, UN events have been held on related issues including the World Conferences on Human Rights (Vienna, 1993), Women (Beijing, 1995) and Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995).For more information on the World Conference, you can visit the Web site of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/racism/.

• Click here for Canada's role in the conference

• Archived information about the conference on Canadian government website

• Historical background on racism and the conference