International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: What does it mean for Scotland?
21st March is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (IDERD). The IDERD theme for 2025 is marking the 60th anniversary of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).
Policy and Public Affairs Officer Kimberley Wong, author of CRER’s ICERD alternative report for Scotland 2024, explores what this means for race equality in Scotland today.
The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination takes place every year on 21st March. The date is set to commemorate the 69 people who died at the hands of police during a peaceful demonstration against apartheid pass laws in Sharpeville, South Africa, in 1960. [1]
In 1966, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly proclaimed the Day to be held on an annual basis for nations who were signatories of the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).
ICERD is one of the UN’s oldest human rights conventions, adopted in 1965, with the UK becoming a signatory in 1969. The UN has chosen to dedicate the 2025 International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to mark ICERD’s 60th anniversary.
ICERD requires nations who sign it to work towards eliminating any form of racial discrimination, and to promote equal access to rights. However, sixty years on, racial inequalities remain ingrained in the UK. CRER’s work demonstrates clearly the extent of the problem in Scotland.
If these issues persist when human rights instruments like ICERD are supposed to be upheld here, then exactly what progress has there been since the ‘60s?
Progress on ICERD is reviewed by the Committee on the Elimination on Racial Discrimination on a regular basis. The review allows the Committee to ask Government officials how their actions have progressed the aims of ICERD. This is set out in a State Report.
The UK Government is responsible for compiling this State Report. Although it includes information provided by devolved bodies including Scottish Government, the quality of reporting and the data included often leaves a lot to be desired. Typically, the gaps are filled by human rights institutions and third-sector organisations, which submit alternative reports and use these to lobby for change. CRER presented its alternative report findings for Scotland at the 2024 Committee Hearings in Geneva.
The Committee’s review produces concluding observations, which are essentially recommendations to improve the State’s progress on ICERD. CRER actively lobbies to ensure that Scottish Government is included in these recommendations and that Scottish priorities are not sidelined by other issues across the UK.
The 2024 concluding observations made a range of recommendations for Scottish Government on areas of racial inequality including political representation, access to justice, child poverty and equality data.
The observations specifically called for Scotland to create a new national action plan to combat racism. This would take forward the aims of the Race Equality Framework for Scotland 2016-30, which still has five years to run, and could incorporate all of the vital concluding observations of ICERD.
Despite the previous Race Equality Immediate Priorities Plan ending in 2023, this is yet to be done. There is no detail on Scottish Governments’ commitment to implementing the observations, even on paper alone.
UN human rights processes often feel like a bureaucratic exercise, especially given the lack of impact on the ground. So why does ICERD matter?
There is a common misconception that racism is always overt (for example hate crime) or that racism is isolated to countries with a history of apartheid or slavery, such as South Africa and the United States.
People from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds have faced, and continue to face, racial discrimination in Scotland. Racism has become more covert, but it has not disappeared.
We can explore the ways that people are being impacted by racism through public attitudes, disparities in health and employment, or even in political representation. This is not new; just often ignored.
A clear example of how this operates in institutions can be seen in the Scottish Government’s approach to child poverty. Although it is Scottish Government’s top priority, there is little consideration of the impact their actions have on Black and minority ethnic families.
Minority ethnic families have been identified as a ‘priority family group’ – those most at risk of poverty – in policy on child poverty. 53% of Black and minority ethnic families are living in poverty in Scotland; more than double the national average of 24%. [2] This is an increase from previous years and without targeted action, this inequality will only get worse. [3]
Worse still, the only child poverty figures now available from Scottish Government combine all minority ethnic groups together, ignoring differences in the issues faced by specific ethnic groups and making it impossible to identify the level of inequality for those groups affected by racism.
Similar issues prevent a proper understanding of the inequalities for groups affected by racism in areas like childcare, social security and employment.
Where we have access to good data, we can see the extent of these inequalities. For example, the cost-of-living crisis has had disproportionate impacts on BME groups, who are more likely to be affected by rising housing costs, inadequate wages and the increasingly precarious social security system.
Current approaches are clearly not reducing the rates of poverty for BME families. This will not change while Scottish Government relies on mainstream approaches to anti-poverty. Targeted action is needed, and urgently, before the gap widens even further.
CRER continues to actively lobby for effective action to tackle this, both in line with and beyond ICERD. We are members of the End Child Poverty Coalition in Scotland, we have presented our research to the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and are engaging with local authorities to identify and share good practice on tackling child poverty. We hope that through these interactions that we can get the attention needed for Black and minority ethnic families in Scotland.
Despite 60 years of ICERD, Black and minority ethnic people continue to face unequal access to services and unfair treatment. Many feel isolated from – and feel unsafe within - their local communities in Scotland.
Scottish Government should use this day to look again at the ICERD concluding observations given to them in 2024 and how they can actively progress the recommendations. We are still waiting on a new race equality action plan, and with the cost of living crisis continuing, racial inequalities threaten to rise even further. We need action now.
CRER continues to work behind the scenes to push for this. In the next few months, we’ll publish a comprehensive handbook of data on racial disparities, with recommendations for policy makers.
We’ll also soon be publishing a manifesto with a set of anti-racism commitments we want to see parties and candidates adopt for the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections. We believe these commitments are achievable and can make real change in Scotland.
While the struggle to secure equality goes on, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination should be a serious motivator for reflection and change. It should be spurring action, not just nods of acknowledgement. A quick Google will show that organisations in Scotland release statements or social media posts on ‘becoming more anti-racist’, but that is the extent of their engagement with the Day. The effort stops on March 22nd.
One day is never enough to refocus our efforts on anti-racism. This work must be ongoing and should always be a priority, whether within institutions like the United Nations and Scottish Government, or in our individual lives.
Read more about CRER’s research, policy and lobbying work on our website:
Footnotes and References
[1] Apartheid was a form of institutionalised racism enforced by the white minority government in South Africa which denied certain human rights to racialised South Africans and other Black and minority ethnic people. This system was formally dismantled in the 1990s but the negative impacts from long-term inequality persist.
[2] Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Poverty in Scotland 2024 (2024).
[3] Scottish Government, Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland 2020-23 (2024).