Multicultural policies’ foreseeable impact on racism and general alignment with international human rights law suggest that both multiculturalism and human rights should be viewed as cornerstones of institutional anti-racism. Far from fixing identities and undermining activism, multiculturalism levels the playing field for on-going identity renegotiation and, when diversity policies are combined with broader race equality strategies, catalyses people of colour’s institutional and grassroots mobilisation. By changing public attitudes, multiculturalism also reduces the appeal of reactionary race politics and enables cross-racial solidarity. Existing human rights norms can go some way in legitimising multiculturalist and anti-racist demands, but could be further developed and institutionalised to address gaps in justiciability, interpretation and implementation.