International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination by UNESCO / FRA / UN News 4:01pm 21st Mar, 2007   21 March, 200    Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, observed 21 March:    On 21 March 1960, police opened fire on peaceful demonstrators protesting racially discriminatory laws in Sharpeville, South Africa. 69 people died and scores more were injured. Every year, the world commemorates that massacre to focus attention on the fight against racism wherever and whenever it occurs.    The theme of this year’s observance, “Racism and Discrimination – Obstacles to Development”, draws attention to the links between racism, discrimination and development. Racist practices hurt their victims, but they also limit the promise of entire societies where they are tolerated. They prevent individuals from realizing their potential and stop them from contributing fully to national progress. They perpetuate deeply embedded social and economic inequalities. Where unaddressed, they can cause social unrest and conflict, undermining stability and economic growth.    The world has made significant strides against racial discrimination in recent decades. The apartheid system was dismantled in South Africa, while many nations passed anti-discrimination laws. But much more remains to be done. Laws on the books haven’t always translated into improved conditions on the ground. And numerous countries have yet to formulate and implement effective anti-discrimination policies. In fact, 42 years after it was adopted, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination still falls well short of universal ratification. Overall, recent reports point to a disturbing rise in incidents of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in many parts of the world.    The United Nations, through its lawmaking, human rights monitoring and awareness-raising roles, has an important part to play in the fight against racial discrimination. But each and every one of us must also make a stand: we must disavow discriminatory and intolerant acts in our personal lives and speak out forcefully against them in the public sphere. Given the connection between racism and development, these actions should be seen as an integral part of local and national efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.    Let us mark this International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination by recommitting ourselves to the equality of all human beings, and by resolving to make every effort to realize this simple, yet powerful, ideal.    21/3/2007    Message of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour on the Occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.    Forty seven years after the massacre of dozens of peaceful demonstrators in Sharpeville, South Africa, the world comes together to remember, once again, the worst excesses of a brutal racist regime, and to take stock of the ravages that racial discrimination continues to inflict everywhere.    Racial discrimination is wrong and harmful in itself. It is a denial of human rights, an affront to human dignity and a direct assault on the foundation of the human rights edifice – the principle of equality. Discrimination and bias also have a direct impact on a society"s development.    A society that tolerates discrimination holds itself back, foregoing the contribution of whole parts of its population, and potentially sowing the seeds of violent conflict. An overwhelming majority of States has accepted the legal obligation to fight racial discrimination. But a reality check demonstrates that formal commitments are not enough.    This International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is the occasion to mobilize public opinion, as well as to remind governments of their duty to combat racial discrimination in all its forms and thereby help ensure the full development of all members of our communities now and for generations to come.    21/3/2007    European Union: A Call for Action against Racism, by Beate Winkler.    “As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the European Union, nobody can remain neutral in the fight against racism”, said Beate Winkler, interim Director of the newly established European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), speaking from Rome on the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (21 March).    “The European project was founded on peace and reconciliation, in the aftermath of our darkest period related to racism, the Shoah and mass murder of Roma in the Nazi death camps. We should not have to repeat this message in 50 years’ time”. “    Our reports document how racism, discrimination, entrenched disadvantage, racist violence and harassment are a fact of life for many individuals in Europe.    As the EU has designated 2007 as the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All, we call on governments to intensify their efforts and to engage society at large to turn principles into reality.”    Beate Winkler commented: “The European Year can create an environment where society as a whole will engage in addressing discrimination, prevent it from occurring, and encourage victims to use the remedies which are in place at the national level. This is about creating the sort of Europe we can be proud of and share equally in.”    “Tolerating inequality means denying people one of their fundamental rights - their right to a life free from discrimination!    The protection from racism and other forms of discrimination is enshrined in European and international law. It forms part of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Yet, it is not enough to pass laws against discrimination. Racist behaviour and attitudes must be combated actively.    This needs decisive government action and the support of NGOs, employers, trade unions and the general public.” Scheduled to participate, on 21 March, at an EU conference in Rome on ‘Equal Opportunities for All in Education and Employment’, Beate Winkler will stress the need to change perspectives, seeing diversity as a benefit rather than a threat to society.    “The most prosperous societies are those that provide equal opportunities for all. The success of these societies is based on ‘three Ts’: (1) technology, (2) talents, and (3) tolerance. The recognition of diversity is the very basis for making use of all talents in society. Europe cannot afford to waste talents if it wants to prosper.”    For background:    + A large proportion of Europeans are of the opinion that discrimination on the basis of ethnic origin is widespread in their country (64%), says a recent Eurobarometer survey . However, only one third of EU citizens claim to know their rights, should they be victims of discrimination. Four out of ten Europeans are unaware that discrimination is prohibited by law.    + Over nine million people (3% of all inhabitants in the 18 EU countries covered by a large-scale survey) experienced racist crime in 2004. The figure is an extrapolation by the Fundamental Rights Agency from the European Crime and Safety Survey (February 2007).    + According to EUROSTAT data from 2006, the unemployment rate for non-EU citizens is significantly higher than those of EU citizens in 14 of the 16 EU countries which provide such data. In four Member States, immigrants from outside the EU-25 were more than three times as likely to be unemployed than EU citizens.    While statistics of higher unemployment rates for immigrants do not in themselves represent evidence of discrimination, they are an indicator of existing labour market inequalities.    + A recent OECD analysis indicates that students from immigrant parents often report stronger learning dispositions and a more positive attitude towards schooling than their native peers. Nevertheless, they generally leave school with lower educational success.    Disparities in housing between migrants and nationals are pervasive across Europe. These differences relate to housing standards, occupancy rates, quality of facilities and concentration levels in poorer housing areas. There is also evidence of outright discrimination in the housing market.    The designation of 21 March as International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination refers back to events in 1960. On 21 March 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people in Sharpeville, South Africa, at a peaceful demonstration against apartheid. Proclaiming the Day in 1966, the UN’s General Assembly called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.    HOW CAN INTOLERANCE BE COUNTERED: UNESCO    1. Fighting intolerance requires law:    Each Government is responsible for enforcing human rights laws, for banning and punishing hate crimes and discrimination against minorities, whether these are committed by State officials, private organizations or individuals. The State must also ensure equal access to courts, human rights commissioners or ombudsmen, so that people do not take justice into their own hands and resort to violence to settle their disputes.    2. Fighting intolerance requires education:    Laws are necessary but not sufficient for countering intolerance in individual attitudes. Intolerance is very often rooted in ignorance and fear: fear of the unknown, of the other, other cultures, nations, religions. Intolerance is also closely linked to an exaggerated sense of self-worth and pride, whether personal, national or religious. These notions are taught and learned at an early age. Therefore, greater emphasis needs to be placed on educating more and better. Greater efforts need to be made to teach children about tolerance and human rights, about other ways of life. Children should be encouraged at home and in school to be open-minded and curious.    Education is a life-long experience and does not begin or end in school. Endeavours to build tolerance through education will not succeed unless they reach all age groups, and take place everywhere: at home, in schools, in the workplace, in law-enforcement and legal training, and not least in entertainment and on the information highways.    3. Fighting intolerance requires access to information:    Intolerance is most dangerous when it is exploited to fulfil the political and territorial ambitions of an individual or groups of individuals. Hatemongers often begin by identifying the public"s tolerance threshold. They then develop fallacious arguments, lie with statistics and manipulate public opinion with misinformation and prejudice. The most efficient way to limit the influence of hatemongers is to develop policies that generate and promote press freedom and press pluralism, in order to allow the public to differentiate between facts and opinions.    4. Fighting intolerance requires individual awareness:    Intolerance in a society is the sum-total of the intolerance of its individual members. Bigotry, stereotyping, stigmatizing, insults and racial jokes are examples of individual expressions of intolerance to which some people are subjected daily. Intolerance breeds intolerance. It leaves its victims in pursuit of revenge. In order to fight intolerance individuals should become aware of the link between their behavior and the vicious cycle of mistrust and violence in society. Each one of us should begin by asking: am I a tolerant person? Do I stereotype people? Do I reject those who are different from me? Do I blame my problems on "them"?    5. Fighting intolerance requires local solutions:    Many people know that tomorrow"s problems will be increasingly global but few realize that solutions to global problems are mainly local, even individual. When confronted with an escalation of intolerance around us, we must not wait for governments and institutions to act alone. We are all part of the solution. We should not feel powerless for we actually posses an enormous capacity to wield power. Nonviolent action is a way of using that power-the power of people. The tools of nonviolent action-putting a group together to confront a problem, to organize a grassroots network, to demonstrate solidarity with victims of intolerance, to discredit hateful propaganda-are available to all those who want to put an end to intolerance, violence and hatred. Visit the related web page
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