WORLDWIDE RISE IN RACISM DEBATED IN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Press Release
HR/CN/888
WORLDWIDE RISE IN RACISM DEBATED IN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
19990331 Nigerian Foreign Minister Urges Commission to End Mandate of Special Rapporteur on Situation of Human Rights in Nigeria(Reissued as received.)
GENEVA, 30 March (UN Information Service) -- The Commission on Human Rights this afternoon continued its discussion on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other related issues. Speakers noted the rise of new forms of racism, as well as the distressing reappearance of old forms in developed countries, long since considered dealt with. The relationship between racism and States was also raised and deplored by many of the participants.
Ignatius C. Olisemeka, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, addressed the Commission, commenting upon the paradox presented by the twentieth century; a century manifesting both the human dignity and nobility as shown in the Declaration of Human Rights, and the constant breach of human rights across the globe. The investment for global peace represented by the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights was noted, as was the right to development. Nigeria was committed to human rights, and would fulfil its commitments in that regard, as indeed it had already started to do. He urged the Commission to end the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Nigeria.
A statement read out in the name of Augustin Kontchou Kouomegni, the Minister of State in charge of External Relations of Cameroon who was unable to attend, said that despite all efforts, millions of citizens on this planet suffered from racism. He urged the Commission to set up international instruments to fight this, and reiterated Cameroon's desire for the international communitys aid in maintaining peace between his country and Nigeria.
Delegations from Hungary, Turkey, Switzerland, Nicaragua, Iran, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Algeria, Zimbabwe, Belarus and Egypt addressed the Commission this afternoon. Representatives for the following non-governmental organizations also spoke: the Transnational and Transdivisional Radical Party, the
Association for World Education, Christian Solidarity International, the International Organization for Freedom of Education, the Movement against Racism and for Friendship Among Peoples, the International Movement against all Forms of Discrimination and Racism, the World Federation of United Nations Associations, the National Council of Jewish Women, Interfaith International, the Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation, the Institute of Non-Aligned Studies, the International Association against Torture, the December 12th Movement International Secretariat, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, the International Save the Children Alliance, and the International Institute for Peace. A representative for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization also spoke at the meeting.
The Commission will meet from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. this evening to continue hearing statements on racism and to start its review of the right to development.
Statements
SAMUEL MVONDO AYOLO, Director of the United Nations Department at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Cameroon, reading out a statement by AUGUSTIN KONTCHOU KOUOMEGNI, Minister of State in charge of External Relations, said this session of the Commission, following the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, was more significant since several States had reiterated the importance of human rights and the progress made since 1948. National programmes of Member States of the United Nations should conform to the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights. Cameroon echoed the appeal to the international community to be more aware of all forms of racism and racial discrimination.
Cameroon had adopted a six-months national programme to celebrate the anniversary of the Universal Declaration. The Prime Minister and head of the Government had personally presided over a ceremony on 16 June 1998 that also commemorated the celebration of the rights of African children.
There was a national plan to encourage and develop culture and peace in Cameroon, the statement by Mr. Kouomegni said. In Central Africa, tragedies were caused by conflicts and the right to life and peace of the people of Cameroon was violated. This had happened since December 1993 when Nigerian forces illegally occupied the Bakassi peninsula in Cameroon. The Government of Nigeria unfortunately continued to carry out unacceptable acts of provocation. The international community was urged to help in maintaining peace between Cameroon and Nigeria including the strict respect of the Geneva Conventions while a verdict was awaited from the International Court of Justice.
IGNATIUS C. OLISEMEKA, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, said his country supported the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This century had
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exhibited both the nobility of the Universal Declaration and also excesses and failures in the area of human rights. Nigeria pledged its continued fulfilment of its obligations to the major international human rights instruments.
Mr. Olisemeka cited the change in Nigeria's Administration since June 1998 and stated that far-reaching measures had been taken to consolidate national cohesion, strengthen the political authorities, develop the economy and create an environment conducive for the enjoyment of human rights. He vowed that there was not a single political prisoner or detainee in Nigeria today. Other measures taken by Nigeria were, among others: the independence of the judiciary; freedom of association for all trade unions; major economic reforms to stimulate growth and encourage domestic and foreign investments; and steps taken under the leadership of the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, General Abdulsalami A. Abubakar.
Mr. Olisemeka called for the termination of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Nigeria since the political, social and economic situation no longer justified the retention of that mechanism.
CSABA MOHI (Hungary) said his Government believed that the European Conference against Racism and Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance should be practical and action oriented and should provide an opportunity for the World Conference against Racism to stimulate national and regional preparatory meetings. Europe's contribution to the World Conference would demonstrate that tackling racism could not be a question of imposing solutions but rather of identifying means of working together. Hungary's preparations for the World Conference commenced in October 1998, with consultation among non-governmental organizations and specialized bodies. The following themes were proposed regarding the agenda of the European Conference: legal protection against racism; policies and practices to combat racism; education and awareness-raising questions and the role of civil society; and information, communication, media and the role of new technologies, including the Internet.
BULENT MERIC (Turkey) stated that contemporary forms of racism constituted a major threat to peace and harmony in many societies, more so in Europe. Latent and institutional discrimination existed in many countries in Europe, taking roots especially from the structure of employment. Intolerance against migrant workers was especially grave. Both national workers and foreign workers were engaged in escalating racism.
Turkey noted the report by the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism which stated that the Internet was increasingly being used for racist purposes. Turkey called on the development of ethics for the use of such technologies and curbs on the abusive use of the Internet for these
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racists purposes. It did not deem these ethics or measures to be an impingement on the freedom of expression. Turkey concluded by supporting the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, and underscoring the importance of the preliminary work and the need for concrete results from this Conference.
JEAN-DANIEL VIGNY (Switzerland) said the general prohibition of racial discrimination was an obligation binding all States, but the daily reality was very different as demonstrated in the simple concept of the Conference against Racism. Europe was already preparing for the World Conference with its own conference, bearing upon such themes as general legal protection from racism, education, information, communication, and the media. However, the cross-cutting topic was prevention. Switzerland had noted the struggle against racist Internet sites, and considered them an encroachment on other peoples human rights and dignity. It was not enough to bank on individual codes of conduct; there was a need for a penal code punishing racism, whatever the media of its dissemination. Switzerland would work for repressive measures of racism, despite the political, technical and legislative difficulties, and would convene an international conference on racist web-sites. Switzerland was committed to the greatest possible participation of non-governmental organizations at the World Conference against Racism.
A representative of Nicaragua, on behalf of the Central American Group, said that the countries represented were concerned about the re-emergence of racism and racial discrimination across the globe. There was concern that certain forms of racism, once thought overcome, were again a threat. Ethnic cleansing and attempts to make political frontiers supervene ethnic ones were a challenge for the international community to take up responsibly and firmly. There was also concern expressed regarding intolerance against minorities and all members of vulnerable groups in societies, including immigrants. A call for the intensification of the struggle against all forms of racism was made since these negated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Education should be the basis to create new generations free of the evils of racism. The need for national programmes to teach the values contained in the Universal Declaration to all was stressed. Nicaragua spoke of the significant role played by the media, including the Internet, and subscribed to the opinion expressed by Guatemala. The decision to designate 2001 as the International Year to Fight Racism, Racial Intolerance, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance was most welcome.
ALI KHORRAM (Iran) said racist movements, racial discrimination and xenophobia, originating from perception of racial superiority or exclusivity, were on the rise. The World Conference against Racism provided a propitious opportunity to address the alarming resurgence of racism. The World Conference could serve as a turning point in the universal struggle against racism, offering a wide range of commitments as well as programme actions.
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The Conference should be action oriented and should review the shortcomings in the implementation of the aims of the Third Decade to Combat Racism.
Mr. Khorram said Iran believed in the promotion of cultural tolerance within the society and amongst the members of the international community as a key element which contributed to the protection of and respect for human rights and which discouraged racism and racial discrimination. He also expressed concern over the growing trend of discrimination and violence against Muslims and "Islamophobia". The problem of "Islamophobia" fell under the mandate of both Special Rapporteurs on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance as well as religious intolerance.
AMARE TEKLE (Eritrea) thanked the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance for his report and applauded the United Nations system for creating the necessary awareness of the problem. Eritrea supported the World Conference against Racism. The massive violation of human rights based largely on various forms of racism being perpetrated in the Horn of Africa was brought to the attention of the Commission.
Mr. Tekle said the Special Rapporteur, Maurice Glele-Ahanhanzo had condemned State policies of arrest, detention, torture, expulsion, and forced separation among other measures against minorities of one country residing in another as being "Ethno-Apartheid" and had urged that they should be condemned by the international community. The International Movement for Fraternal Union Among Races and Peoples had three years ago warned of bloodshed in these situations. The international community was called upon to urge the country which had perpetrated these policies to rectify them. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur should also be broadened to include ethnic discrimination and intolerance in the region.
SELESHI MENGESHA (Ethiopia) noted that under article 1 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the terms "racial discrimination" encompassed distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on various grounds, including that based on national or ethnic origin. The denial of human rights, only because of nationality, was standard for thousands across the globe, most especially in time of war when foreign nationals were often subjected to gross violations of their human rights. As these criminal acts were committed in time of war, they constituted massive violations of both human rights and breaches of international humanitarian law. Those acts were committed against Ethiopian nationals by the Eritrean authorities, he declared, and the latter should be held responsible for war crimes and massive violations of human rights. Ethiopia called upon the international community to condemn the Eritrean aggression, to deplore Eritrean racist propaganda and racist attacks, and to hold that Government responsible for war crimes, the loss of life, and the destruction of property.
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LAZAR SOUALEM (Algeria) cited the need for action against the new forms of racial discrimination and intolerance based on skin colour, race, nationality, religion or culture and identified immigrant communities and migrant workers. The international community should be mobilized against these injustices and the countries involved should enact legislation to ensure against these abuses and enforce their implementation. General Assembly resolution 52/111 underlined the concrete and pragmatic orientation regarding the prevention, education and protection of racial discrimination and racism. There was a need for urgent cooperation between nations in the combat against these various forms of racism which menaced their societies with potentially grave consequences.
T.J.B. JOKONYA (Zimbabwe) said the report submitted by the High Commissioner for Human Rights to this session (E/CN.4.1999/12) was quite revealing. Despite the two decades assigned to combat racism and racial discrimination, everyone still lived in a racist world, a world of bigotry and xenophobia and a world where human values had not transcended domestic frontiers. Racism was witnessed in America where James Byrd, an Afro-American was dragged alive through the streets.
The various programmes of action and initiatives so far taken to address the problem of racism, including the rising of public awareness, anti-racist teaching, and religious and linguistic groups were acceptable to Zimbabwe. States should take it upon themselves to promote the basic values of humanity and effectively enforce concrete measures to combat racial prejudices. The work by the Special Rapporteur on racism, Maurice Glele-Ahanhanzo, was commended.
Mr. Jokonya said the Special Rapporteur's report had noted that there were new forms of racism raring their ugly heads, especially in developed countries. Utilizing immigration laws to bar the attainment of equal rights for all surely did not help stem the tide of racism. Everyone should support the World Conference against Racism and should commit enough resources -- financial, human and material -- to ensure that the Conference was successful.
DOUDOU DIENE, of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said the organization had played a pioneering role in the fight against racism and racial discrimination. The greatest example was the decision of South Africa to leave the organization in 1956 due to the efforts of UNESCO to fight racism and apartheid. The slave trade was wiped out through education, and it was hoped that this would be the case with the new forms of racism. The descendants of slaves were impatiently waiting for a positive decision on these issues from the descendants of those nations who were once implicated in the slave trade.
SYARGEI MIKHNEVICH (Belarus) said there had never been open conflict in his country despite its multi-ethnicity. Belarus society had a high level of
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tolerance. Mutual civil peace and harmony had been experienced since independence. According to the law at the time of independence, citizenship in Belarus had been accessible to all. There had been no blood shed in the post-Soviet era Belarus.
MOUNIR ZAHRAN (Egypt) stated that the Third Decade of the struggle against racism and discrimination had concluded without attaining its fixed objectives. He underlined the poor treatment inflicted on immigrants workers and called for the need to examine this question at the World Conference against Racism. While many countries blamed immigrants as the cause of unemployment, there were at the same time many claims against these countries of violations of the right of the immigrants to employment. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization should promote tolerance as a means against racism and intolerance.
PAULO PIETROSANTI, of the Transnational and Transdivisional Radical Party, also on behalf of the International Romani Union, said diplomats were more nomad than Gypsies. The vast majority of Roma people had lived permanently in the same place for generations. The Roma nation had grown whilst resisting discrimination, and had moved beyond the traditional concept of the State, in a world where the economy and information had become global. Racism was qualified as something that belonged to the soul and the mind of each and every human being, that had always come out of inadequacy of rules and institutions towards human needs and changes. The speaker asked for a Special Rapporteur to deliver a special report on racial discrimination against Gypsies, urged the Commission to invite States to invest in the Roma culture, and requested that the Working Group preparing for the World Conference against Racism include a specific item regarding the Roma nation on the agenda.
RENE WADLAW, of the Association of World Education, thanked the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism for his report. He thanked the Security forces for protecting those attending the Commission but said their silent presence served as a constant reminder of the failure to deal adequately with the question of the Kurds, of Kosovo, and of all other groups who were not able to assemble at the Place des Nations. Special attention needed to be given to the untouchables in India. The right to food, education and structural adjustment policies should be addressed in the coming World Conference.
DAVID LITTMAN of the Association of World Citizens and Christian Solidarity International, underlined the dangers of censorship or auto-censorship. He cited the case of the report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism (E/CN.4/1997/71) in which he was required to correct four lines or resign. The representative warned that a draft resolution condemning "attacks on Islam" or "blasphemy" would be disastrous
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for the Commission and would limit the effectiveness of the efforts against human rights violations.
LUIS ARASANZ, of the International Organization for the Development of Freedom of Education, noted that all non-governmental organizations had a right to fight racism wherever they found it. The organization had developed a programme to involve young people from the European Union in the fight against racism through education. Effective proposals for the education of university students and schoolchildren must include the problems faced by minorities such as migrants. A programme was started to denounce the exploitation of children, with the setting-up of a website to fight racism and xenophobia. The organization hoped to achieve the goal of the motto of this enterprise: deeds, not words.
J. J. KIRKYACHARIAN, of the Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Among Peoples, said the meeting of non-governmental organizations and other international organizations was important for the upcoming World Conference against Racism. The world was a pluralistic one and racism was as old as ignorance. Ignorance and poverty grew as a result of people cultivating them. Racism was not related to structural inequality. A war should be waged against racism in all its forms.
ATSUKO TANAKA, representative of the International Movement against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), supported the report and work of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Maurice Glele-Ahanhanzo. Especially underscored were the findings on the situation of Dalits or so-called "untouchables" which suggested a field mission to the country concerned.
Ms. Tanaka said numerous abuses based on gender, cast and religion were cited by the organization which recommended that the Special Rapporteur visit Dalit communities in India and in other South Asia countries where cast discrimination existed and that he make recommendations for measures to be taken by the Governments concerned. The issues of discrimination against Dalits and other communities such as the Roma people in Europe should also be a topic of special consideration at the World Conference against Racism.
HORACE PERERA, of the World Federation of United Nations Associations, said that the proposed World Conference against Racism, convoked under compelling pressure by the non-governmental organizations, was seen as an indictment of Member States for their indifference to their obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The fact that in a vast majority of Member States there was no evidence of serious efforts to train and motivate teachers to educate for a recognition of, and respect for, human rights, merely demonstrated the scant attention paid to this by Member States. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization had laid the responsibility on the entire
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teaching profession for seeing that educational resources in all counties were used to combat racism. It was imperative that UNESCO recognize this, and take measures to discharge it. The efforts of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to promote a realization of the aims of this particular Convention were commended. It was noted that the global campaign against all forms of racial discrimination had not yet got off the ground, and it was hoped that this would be remedied before it was too late.
ANDREE FARHI, of the National Council of Jewish Women, denounced revisionism and negationism which had taken a new dimension with the new multimedia technologies. More and more websites were propagating false theories and propaganda and were inciting racial discrimination without worrying about sanctions against them. These new racist methods were no longer the exclusivity of the extreme right groups, nationalists, or the usual anti-Semites, but also non traditional groups had joined like fundamentalist groups. The World Conference against Racism should look into this issue of revisionism and negationism.
DEANNA PATM, of Interfaith International, underscored the role that religion played in racism and racial discrimination and suggested that pure science should be a more credible bulwark against racism and racial discrimination. The adoption by the United Nations of the results of anthropological findings concerning race which implied that there was a biological unity of mankind lying behind the diversity of cultures and ethnic groups was applauded. The United Nations was in a better position than the world's religions to lay the foundations for the fight against racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia.
PRAMILA SRIVASTAVA, of the International Institute for Non-Allied Studies, said racism, xenophobia and racial discrimination were evils to be fought relentlessly if democratic societies were to survive. Plural and secular democracy that treated every human being as an equal was the best guarantor of human rights. The entire doctrine of global mobility was held hostage to the imperatives of domestic lobbies, with policies not designed to share knowledge for the benefit of mankind, but to exploit exclusive knowledge for economic gain. The pooling of diverse elements was the key to scientific and technological breakthroughs, with global markets recognized as requiring resource mobility. Artificial barriers were placed on the mobility of the human resource. Skin colour, nationality or religious belief had become the deciding factor for acceptability at a time when the endeavour of the world community should transform the world into a global economy.
ROGER S. WAREHAM, of the International Association Against Torture, said there was a double standard of evaluation which entirely eroded the human rights arena. The World Conference against Racism would be successful only if all issues were looked at seriously. The speaker noted the demand of compensation of enslaved Africans from the countries which enslaved them. The
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persistence of racism today could likewise only be understood through analysis of the economic benefits it brought to the descendants of and successors to the old slavers and colonialists. This unquestionably meant an investigation of the connection between "globalization" and increased incidences of discrimination. Otherwise, the World Conference against Racism would be no more than an annotation on the United Nations calendar of events in the year 2001. Brazil should be the venue for the Conference as it has the largest population of people of African descent outside continental Africa.
ANGELA MANGUM, of the December 12th Movement International Secretariat, noted that racism had been economically profitable for those who controlled and benefited from the economic system which generated it. Education was a key element of the Programme of Action for the Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination. But the will to eradicate racism was missing in the countries which practised racism. Numerous racist issues were cited in the United States, including among others, the racist policies at New York's City University and acts of brutality by police. The United States was cited as accepting the World Conference against Racism while seeking ways to sabotage it. The United States statement this morning on this item was an example of its avoidance of injustices such as the Riverside Police Department's murder of a 19-year old Black woman, Tyelsha Miller. The December 12th Movement called for an analysis of the relationship between globalization, the economic crisis and the rise of institutional and individual racism.
DAWN PLUMMER, of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, said that as a women's peace organization, its primary goal was to abolish all wars. There was grave concern at the rise of nationalism and global hatred, even more when those in government or seeking elected office used them. Racism was endemic, as well as present in many governmental organizations such as the police. The United Nations should be the key to coordinate worldwide efforts against racism, and the lack of financial assistance given to organizations fighting racism was deplorable. The League urged continuing support for the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism and deplored violence against women, reminding the Commission of the multiple forms of discrimination against women, not just because of gender, but also colour. Non-governmental organizations should be a fundamental part of the World Conference and financial aid was requested for all such organizations.
JULIA EKSTED, of International Save the Children Alliance, said she was speaking on behalf of the children who had been forgotten throughout the world. Childhood was short and could not be repeated. Roma, Gypsy and troubled children throughout Europe were subjected to violence and forced to live in ghettos with no water and electricity. They were often institutionalized because the situations they live in were considered to be unsanitary. The organization urged governments concerned to stop persecuting Roma, Gypsies and troubled children.
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TATIANA SHAUMIAN, of the International Institute for Peace, stated that the end of the cold war has given way to numerous racial issues and abuses. People who had coexisted peacefully for generations were now demanding identifiable space based on their particular ethnic or religious backgrounds. Problems cited were religious battles between sects in Pakistan, ethnic cleansing in Indian Kashmir and ethnic problems between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The International Institute for Peace called on the Commission to urgently set into motion a plan of action designed to investigate the constitutional and legal structures and the educational environment in different States whose structures of governance sanctioned discrimination.
F. SYED BABA, of the Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation, expressed full solidarity with the organization of the World Conference against Racism, and congratulated the Special Rapporteur against contemporary forms of racism for his report. The international community was committed to address the problems related to racial discrimination and xenophobia as defined in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, but it was felt that the international community should go a step ahead and remain more vigilant in identifying new and changing forms of xenophobia. In the second half of the twentieth century, new patterns of warfare which in some specific cases were engineered and financed by the most powerful and democratic countries, had been witnessed. The emphasis that had been put on methods of education to promote the elimination of racial discrimination and xenophobia was noted, but the contrary often occurred.
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