INTRODUCTION Although the standard of non-discrimination has been established as a bedrock principle of international law, the persistence of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance clearly demonstrates the need to look for new ways to address this problem with more resolve, with more humanity and with greater efficiency. The World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, held in Durban, South Africa, from 31 August to 8 September 2001, helped focus the international community’s thinking about where action to date has been insufficient, and in what areas and in what ways we can do more to create just and fair societies free of racial discrimination. The Conference involved nine days of intensive and frequently difficult negotiation. Nevertheless, despite all of the obstacles that had to be overcome, the Conference was ultimately successful in negotiating a Declaration and Programme of Action by consensus. The documents adopted at the Conference address a wide range of subjects. Concerning the past, the language adopted was historic. The Conference agreed that slavery and the slave trade are a crime against humanity, and should have always been so. It was further agreed that slavery and the slave trade, including the transatlantic slave trade, were appalling tragedies in the history of humanity, especially in their negation of the essence of the victims. The Conference also recognized that colonialism had led to racism and caused suffering and that its consequences persist to this day. 1