On October 20, 2021, Mathias Möschel (Head of Department of Legal Studies, CEU) and Sejal Parmar (Director of Human Rights Forum, School of Law, University of Sheffield, Visiting Professor, CEU) spoke with the UN Special Rapporteur, Tendayi Achiume on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.
The discussion addressed such issues as:
- contemporary racism against the backdrop of today’s formidable and complex challenges including COVID-19 pandemic, the climate emergency, socio-economic inequality, migration flows and 'racial borders', and surveillance capitalism;
- the impact of the global awakening to racism in the aftermath murder of George Floyd in May 2020 – upon governments, companies (especially in the technology sector), multilateral institutions (including UN bodies), and civil society organizations;
- the role of UN experts in addressing human rights abuses around the world in the face of criticism and pressure.
Biography | E. Tendayi Achiume is Alicia Miñana Chair in Law at UCLA Law School and she is currently also the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, making her the first woman to serve in this role since its creation in 1993. The current focus of her work is the global governance of racism and xenophobia, and the legal and ethical implications of colonialism for contemporary international migration. More generally, her research and teaching interests lie in international human rights law, international refugee law, international migration, and property. Professor Achiume earned her B.A. from Yale University and her J.D. from Yale Law School. Professor Achiume clerked for Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke and Justice Yvonne Mokgoro on the Constitutional Court of South Africa.