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[Insert statement of urgency and significance for why this right relates to AI.]
Sectors #
The contributors of the AI & Human Rights Index have identified the following sectors as responsible for both using AI to protect and advance this human right.
- ART: Arts and Culture
- BUS: Business
- COM: Media and Communication
- DEF: Defense and Military
- EDU: Education and Research
- ENV: Environmental and Energy
- FIN: Financial Services
- GOV: Government and Public Sector
- HLTH: Healthcare and Public Health
- INTL: International Organizations and Relations
- LAW: Legal and Law Enforcement
- REG: Regulatory and Oversight Bodies
- SOC: Social Services and Housing
- TECH: Technology
- TRAN: Transportation and Infrastructure
- WORK: Employment and Labor
AI’s Potential Violations #
[Insert 300- to 500-word analysis of how AI could violate this human right.]
AI’s Potential Benefits #
[Insert 300- to 500-word analysis of how AI could advance this human right.]
Human Rights Instruments #
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) #
G.A. Res. 217 (III) A, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, U.N. Doc. A/RES/217(III) (Dec. 10, 1948)
Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in Dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, Trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
Convention Against Discrimination in Education (1960) #
Convention Against Discrimination in Education, Dec. 14, 1960, 429 U.N.T.S. 93.
Article 1
For the purposes of this Convention, the term ‘discrimination’ includes any distinction, exclusion, limitation or preference which, being based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin, has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing Equality of treatment in education.
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965) #
G.A. Res. 2106 (XX), International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, U.N. Doc. A/RES/2106(XX) (Dec. 21, 1965).
Article 2(1)(d)
Each State Party shall prohibit and bring to an end, by all appropriate means, including legislation as required by circumstances, racial discrimination by any persons, group or organization.
Article 5(c)(v)
States Parties undertake to prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, colour, or national or ethnic origin, to Equality before the law… including the right to education and training.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) #
G.A. Res. 2200A (XXI), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 999 U.N.T.S. 171 (Dec. 16, 1966)
Article 2
1. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
2. Where not already provided for by existing legislative or other measures, each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to take the necessary steps, in accordance with its constitutional processes and with the provisions of the present Covenant, to adopt such laws or other measures as may be necessary to give effect to the rights recognized in the present Covenant.
3. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes:
(a) To ensure that any person whose rights or freedoms as herein recognized are violated shall have an effective Remedy, notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity;
(b) To ensure that any person claiming such a Remedy shall have his right thereto determined by competent judicial, administrative or legislative authorities, or by any other competent authority provided for by the legal system of the State, and to develop the possibilities of judicial Remedy;
(c) To ensure that the competent authorities shall enforce such remedies when granted.
Article 26
All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law. In this respect, the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Article 27
In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language.
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) #
G.A. Res. 2200A (XXI), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 993 U.N.T.S. 3 (Dec. 16, 1966)
Article 2
The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to guarantee that the rights enunciated in the present Covenant will be exercised without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Article 15
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone:
(a) To take part in cultural life;
(b) To enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications;
(c) To benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.2. The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present Covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall include those necessary for the conservation, the development and the Diffusion of science and culture.
3. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to respect the Freedom indispensable for scientific research and creative activity.
4. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the benefits to be derived from the encouragement and development of international contacts and co-operation in the scientific and cultural fields.
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979) #
G.A. Res. 34/180, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, U.N. Doc. A/RES/34/180 (Dec. 18, 1979)
Article 2
States Parties condemn discrimination against women in all its forms, agree to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination against women and, to this end, undertake:
(a) To embody the principle of the Equality of men and women in their national constitutions or other appropriate legislation if not yet incorporated therein and to ensure, through law and other appropriate means, the practical realization of this principle;
(b) To adopt appropriate legislative and other measures, including sanctions where appropriate, prohibiting all discrimination against women;
(c) To establish legal protection of the rights of women on an equal basis with men and to ensure through competent national tribunals and other public institutions the effective protection of women against any act of discrimination;
(d) To refrain from engaging in any act or practice of discrimination against women and to ensure that public authorities and institutions shall act in conformity with this obligation;
(e) To take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women by any person, organization or enterprise;
(f) To take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices which constitute discrimination against women;
(g) To repeal all national penal provisions which constitute discrimination against women.
African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (1981) #
African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, June 27, 1981, O.A.U. Doc. CAB/LEG/67/3 rev. 5, 21 I.L.M. 58 (1982).
Article 19
All peoples shall be equal; they shall enjoy the same respect and shall have the same rights. Nothing shall justify the domination of a people by another.
Last Updated: October 9, 2025
Research Assistants: Aarianna Aughtry, Amisha Rastogi
Contributors: Wandys M. Aquino, Adriana L. Kirwin, Abby M. Santiago
Reviewer: To Be Determined
Editor: Dirk Brand
Subject: Human Right
Edition: Edition 1.0 Research
Recommended Citation: "II.H. Rights of Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Edition 1.0 Research." In AI & Human Rights Index, edited by Nathan C. Walker, Dirk Brand, Caitlin Corrigan, Georgina Curto Rex, Alexander Kriebitz, John Maldonado, Kanshukan Rajaratnam, and Tanya de Villiers-Botha. New York: All Tech is Human; Camden, NJ: AI Ethics Lab at Rutgers University, 2025. Accessed December 05, 2025. https://aiethicslab.rutgers.edu/Docs/ii-racial-ethnic-minorities/.