NEW YORK, (BBC)- After months of wrangling, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights says agreement has finally been reached on a document setting out the terms for global action against racism and xenophobia.
Publication of the document was delayed by a dispute over whether several paragraphs referring to slavery and the slave trade should be included in a programme of action.
European nations objected to this proposal, fearing it might expose them to claims for compensation from African nations.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, says the world now has a "living document" to regain the momentum in the struggle against discrimination and racism.
But it has been no easy task to reach this point.
Diplomats had hoped to agree on a programme of action against racism and xenophobia at a conference in South Africa in September 2001.
But that gathering was riven by disputes over whether Israel's action against Palestinian communities constituted state-sponsored racism and over the degree to which European nations should accept responsibility for the transatlantic slave trade during the early years of African colonisation.
A compromise was reached on the issue of slavery with agreement to describe the slave trade as a crime against humanity, but disagreement remained over whether a commitment to recognise this should be placed in a programme of action.
European nations feared this might expose them to claims of compensation from African nations which had been most affected by the slave trade.
As a result, several paragraphs referring to slavery have now been moved into a separate declaration that accompanies the programme of action.
What this means in practical terms is that the wrongs of slavery are now recognised in political terms but the UN document does not lay down a programme of action to redress the impact the slave trade had on the African continent.