“The fight for human rights is a fight for memory… denied tragedies may be reproduced in other forms.”
-DOUDOU DIÈNE

Doudou Diène currently serves as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. He was appointed Special Rapporteur by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in 2002, and in that capacity examines all incidents that manifest contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. He monitors government measures to combat racism, and he reports annually to the U.N. Human Rights Council and the General Assembly. Mr. Diène also serves as Vice President of the International Council of Social Sciences and Philosophy and is an active member of the International Council of Auroville.

Born in Senegal in 1941, Doudou Diène was a prizewinner in philosophy of Senegal’s Concours Général, holds a law degree from the University of Caen, a doctorate in public law from the University of Paris and a diploma in political science from the Institute of Political Studies in Paris, France.

In the early 1970s, Mr. Diène served as deputy representative of Senegal to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as well as Vice-President and Secretary of the African Group and the Group of 77. In 1977, Mr. Diène joined the United Nations Educational and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) Secretariat staff. Three years later, he was appointed as the Director of the Liaison Office with the United Nations, Permanent Missions and U.N. departments in New York City.

Between 1985 and 1987, Mr. Diène worked as UNESCO’s Deputy Assistant Director-General for External Relations, as well as Acting Director of the Bureau of Public Information. During this time, he managed the “Integral Study of the Silk Roads: Roads of Dialogue,” a special project aimed at revitalizing open dialogue between Eastern and Western civilizations.

In 1993, Mr. Diène was appointed Director of the Division of Intercultural Projects, and became responsible for numerous intercultural dialogue initiatives focusing on the Slave Route, the Routes of Faith, the Routes of al-Andalus and the Iron Roads in Africa. Five years later, he began to focus specifically on projects to strengthen interreligious dialogue, understanding and cooperation.

A recognized expert in the field, Mr. Diène is a prolific writer and has published many articles on intercultural and interreligious dialogue in numerous journals, including Historia, Diogenes and Archeologia.