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hatred for political profit”.12 It has been shown that it was the fear of losing status and
economic anxiety for white voters that underpinned the rise of far-right populism
globally. Furthermore, the loss of status among groups experiencing economic decline
can exacerbate cultural dissonance and racial resentment. 13 Far-right parties (whose
base is overwhelmingly white) have tended to exploit those anxieties around
immigration, race and white identity. 14 Recent election results in Europe have shown
that nationalists and far-right political parties are at their strongest since the 1930s. 15
What is common across this broad political spectrum is the virulent anti-black and
anti-immigration rhetoric that continues to feed and normalize the negative
stereotypes of people of African descent.
29. Political leaders have an important role to play in combating negative racia l
stereotypes, but some global leaders instead choose to wield racial stereotypes as a
political tool. In this connection, it should be recalled that in paragraph 85 of the
Durban Declaration, political platforms, organizations, legislation and practices based
on racism, xenophobia or doctrines of racial superiority and related discrimination
were condemned as incompatible with democracy and accountable governance. To
illustrate the phenomenon, it is necessary to show examples of the open or thinly
cloaked racism that perpetuates negative stereotypes of people of African descent.
The widespread political use of racial stereotypes consistently references disease,
toxicity and the threat of contagion, often dehumanizing people and their homelands.
30. In September 2018, at a migration conference in Vienna, the Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of the Interior of Italy, Matteo Salvini, referenced his
motivation for public service as follows: “I believe that I’m in government in order
to see that our young people have the number of children that they used to a few years
ago … rather than bring in modern-day slaves to replace the children we’re not
having”. 16 And in a June 2018 tweet, Mr. Salvini, echoed this sentiment, saying “I did
well to block the NGO ships. I stopped not only the smuggling of illegal immigrants
but, from that which emerges, also toxic waste”. Similarly, prosecutors in Catania,
Italy, made specious unfounded claims after ordering the seizure of the migrant ship,
Aquarius, that there were cases of scabies, HIV, tuberculosis and meningitis among
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See United Nations, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
“Confronting the two faces of racism: resurgent hate and structural discrimination ”, 21 March
2018. Available at https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=
22856&LangID=E.
See Melissa S. Kearney, Brad Hershbein and Elisa Jácome, “Profiles of change: employment,
earnings and occupations from 1990-2013”, the Hamilton Project, 20 April 2015. Available at
https://www.hamiltonproject.org/papers/profiles_of_change_employment_earnings_occupations_
1990-2013.
See John Halpin and Ruy Teixeira, “European right-wing nationalism comes to America”, Center
for American Progress Action Fund, 6 July 2016. Available at
https://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/democracy/news/2016/07/06/140877/european right-wing-nationalism-comes-to-america/.
Austria: Freedom Party, 26 per cent; Bulgaria: United Patriots, 9 per cent; Cyprus: ELAM, 3.7
per cent; Czechia: Freedom and Direct Democracy, 11 per cent; Denmark: Danish People ’s Party,
21 per cent; Finland: The Finns, 18 per cent; France: National Front, 13 per cent; Germany:
Alternative for Germany, 12.6 per cent; Greece: Golden Dawn, 7 per cent; Hungar y: Jobbik, 19
per cent; Italy: The League, 17.4 per cent; Netherlands: Freedom Party, 13 per cent; Slovakia:
Our Slovakia, 8 per cent; Sweden: Sweden Democrats, 17.6 per cent; Switzerland: Swiss
People’s Party, 29 per cent.
See Nick Squires, “Italy’s Matteo Slavini provokes vulgar outburst from Luxembourg in fresh
row over migrants”, The Telegraph, Rome, 14 September 2018. Available at
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/14/italys-matteo-salvini-fresh-row-migrantsprovoking-outburst/.
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