Christina Meinecke, Regional Representative for Europe,
Office of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
19 March 2025

Ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, friends, ENAR and collaborators who are, each year, the driving force behind the Anti-Racism and Diversity week and the anti-racism agenda in general.

It is an honour to be here with you to strengthen our collaboration across two deeply intertwined concepts that shape the future of social justice: anti-racism and transformative justice.

My main message for today is that if we want to overcome the current structural racism and racial discrimination, we need transformative justice.

Let me start with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. pointed out

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

This quote reminds us of the interconnectedness of humanity and the importance of addressing injustice wherever it occurs. Addressing injustice related to systemic and structural racism is an individual, institutional and community issue, and the demand for justice is universal.

When we think about justice in the context of racism, we must go beyond punitive measures. Transformative justice is a model that seeks to heal and repair relationships, rather than simply assigning blame and punishment. It emphasizes accountability, the restoration of dignity, and the rebuilding of community.