United Nations Anti-Racism Conference Held in Lisbon Marks First In-Person Gathering of Secretariat Focal Points

The United Nations Conference on Combating Racism and Promoting Dignity for All in the Secretariat took place in Lisbon from 9 to 12 June 2025, bringing together, for the first time in person, the network of anti-racism focal points across the UN system. The meeting was convened by the UN Anti-Racism Office, with support from Portugal.

Around 50 participants attended the conference, including two UN Under-Secretaries-General – Catherine Pollard, head of the Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance, and Mojankunyane Gumbi, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Racism in the Workplace –, as well as various Assistant Secretaries-General and senior officials from UN entities such as UNODC, OHCHR, DPPA, OICT, as well as field missions including UNMISS, UNMIK, UNOWAS and UNFICYP. Representatives of civil society were present as well.

The conference aimed to strengthen the UN’s institutional commitment to its anti-racism agenda, facilitate the exchange of good practices among focal points from across the system, and advance the adoption of an internal Secretariat-wide commitment – the Anti-Racism Pledge.

Hosting the meeting in Lisbon underscored Portugal’s strong engagement in promoting the founding values of the United Nations, notably human dignity and equality. Portugal highlighted the structures it has put in place domestically to combat racism, as well as its efforts within the UN, including the co-facilitation of the text marking the 20th anniversary of the Durban Declaration. The country reaffirmed that it remains a reliable and predictable partner of the United Nations, standing with the organization at critical moments such as the present one.