WORKING GROUP ON DRAFT DECLARATION ADOPTS GENERIC TEXT ON VICTIMS OF RACISM

WORKING GROUP ON DRAFT DECLARATION ADOPTS

GENERIC TEXT ON VICTIMS OF RACISM

DURBAN, 6 September -- Working Group I, charged with examining the text of the draft declaration for the World Conference on Racism, this morning agreed on a text identifying the victims of racism.  The text will immediately follow preambular paragraph 43 of the draft.

Beginning after the section title “General Issues” in the draft declaration, the following text will become operative paragraph one:

“The victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance are individuals or groups of individuals who are or who have been affected by or subjected to or targets of those scourges.”

Then everywhere else that the list of victims currently appears in the document, the list will be eliminated and replaced simply with the words “the victims”.

The text was prepared by an informal group chaired by Mexico.

In other action this morning, the working group adopted preambular paragraphs 3 and 21 and operative paragraphs 61, 62, 63, 76, and 131 of the draft.  It also deleted paragraph 60.

The Chairman of the drafting committee informed the working group that all work on the draft declaration and action programme should be adopted by tomorrow morning.

The working group will continue its deliberations 3 p.m. today. 

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