HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL HOLDS DEBATE ON THE STATE OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION WORLDWIDE

The Human Rights Council this afternoon held its annual debate on the state of racial discrimination worldwide, with a focus on “learning from historical tragedies to combat racial discrimination today”.

Joachim Rücker, President of the Human Rights Council, presenting the debate and its theme, said it had particular significance since this year was the seventieth anniversary of the end of World War II. Misconceptions and misunderstandings, discrimination and lack of social empathy were reasons that led to such tragedies.

Opening the debate, Jane Connors, Director of the Research and Right to Development Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said much had improved since the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Race-based discrimination and xenophobia however persisted in all parts of the world. It was everyone’s collective responsibility to ensure that the horrors of the past rooted in racism had no place in their present and future world.

Christiane Taubira, Minister of Justice of France, said racial discrimination should inspire humans to look back in time and analyze ideologies that turned human beings into things and that fostered a sense of inferiority. Today, when references were made to racial groups, it was necessary to be mindful of the use of language. Access to knowledge and education was the precondition for emancipation, and Europe inherited that spirit from the age of enlightenment.

Doudou Diène, Chair of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, said the intellectual legitimization of racism and its political exploitation was on the rise because of a big identity crisis. Changes took place because minorities who had been victims wanted to emerge from the shadows. It was very important to strengthen legal instruments through law and justice, to address the root causes of racism, and to rethink education by not only conveying knowledge but conveying values.

Johanna Kool-Blokland, Director of the Zeeland Archives, said that the Zeeland Archives’ main goal was to create sustained accessibility of paper and digital records on the trans-Atlantic slave trade to enable everyone to learn from this. Today, the trans-Atlantic slave trade was on the curriculum of many primary and secondary schools in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands and had been entered into the National Canon of Dutch History.

Ali Moussa Iyé, Chief of the Intercultural Dialogue Section of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, said that Africans and persons of African descent had faced prejudices based on the belief that Africa had never contributed to human progress, and that poverty in Africa was proof of their inability to create and innovate. UNESCO had launched several programmes to dismantle biological racism and to show the contribution of different civilizations to human progress.

In the ensuing discussion, speakers expressed their concern that racism, xenophobia and racial discrimination continued to happen in all parts of the world, and agreed on the importance of learning from past tragedies to combat and prevent this phenomenon today. Education of history as well as human rights education were therefore crucial for the promotion of a culture of tolerance. Speakers underlined the important contribution of the Durban Declaration and Plan of Action and of the Decade of People of African Descent, and called for the universal ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Speaking were Algeria on behalf of the African Group, Ecuador on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, European Union, Brazil, Egypt, Bahrain, Portugal, Morocco, Ghana, Sweden, Djibouti, Iran, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Slovenia, South Africa, Germany, Chile, Greece, Costa Rica, Latvia, Netherlands, Thailand, Gabon, Venezuela, China, Russian Federation and Cuba.

Indian Council of South America, United Nations Watch, World Jewish Congress, International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations, International Movement against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism, AUA Americas Chapter Inc. and United States Human Rights Network also took the floor.

The Council will next meet on Monday, 23 March at 9 a.m. to hold individual interactive dialogues with the Commission of Inquiry on the Gaza conflict and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The Council will also hold a general debate on reports from the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General, and a general debate on the follow-up and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.

Opening Statements

JOACHIM RÜCKER, President of the Human Rights Council, said this debate was part of the commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and it would focus on “Learning from historical tragedies to combat racial discrimination today”. This theme was timely as it was also the seventieth anniversary of World War II, which Germany had started with an aggression. Misconceptions and misunderstandings, discrimination and lack of social empathy were reasons that led to such tragedies.

JANE CONNORS, Director of the Research and Right to Development Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, recalled that it was the 1960 Sharpeville massacre in what was then Transvaal in South Africa, during which dozens of peaceful demonstrators were killed and hundreds injured, which inspired the United Nations General Assembly to proclaim 21 March as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This year was the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which enshrined its States parties’ resolve “to adopt all necessary measures for speedily eliminating racial discrimination in all its forms and manifestations, and to prevent and combat racist doctrines and practices in order to promote understanding between races and to build an international community free from all forms of racial segregation and racial discrimination.” Now 50 years later much had improved. Many countries had introduced national legislation and policies combatting racial discrimination and put in place institutions to assist victims and other remedies. United Nations human rights mechanisms, including the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Special Rapporteur on racism and the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action played a crucial role in combatting racism.

However, despite the many efforts, race-based discrimination and xenophobia persisted in all parts of the world. Racial discrimination frequently intersected with other forms of discrimination, including against women and girls and based on disability and age. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights encouraged the universal ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination without reservations, and cooperation with human rights mechanisms. It was everyone’s collective responsibility to ensure that the horrors of the past rooted in racism, such as slavery, genocide, the Holocaust, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing had no place in our present and future world. All forms of racism and racial discrimination, even when not violent, negatively affected a person’s dignity and human rights enjoyment and must not be tolerated. Ms. Connors stressed the importance of revisiting history so as to remember past tragedies, and the importance of education, including human rights education and education which was sensitive to and respected cultural diversity. The topic of this panel was chosen because it was known that looking back and learning from the past promoted civic engagement, critical thinking and discussion. It also assisted everyone in understanding history, and the challenges faced today.

Statements by the Moderator and Panellists

CHRISTIANE TAUBIRA, Minister of Justice of France, said she believed that the elimination of any discrimination, including racial discrimination, rested on the ability to accept others and see value in them. Genocide, slavery and other forms of violence rested on the denial of humanity. Racial discrimination should inspire humans to look back in time and analyse ideologies that turned human beings into things and that fostered a sense of inferiority. Systems of domination were maintained on the basis of pseudo doctrines in order to exclude others. The cases of exclusion, destruction and extermination should serve as lessons to tap into ignorance and prejudices. Science taught everyone that the colour of the skin did not constitute a basis for establishing differences among humans. Today when references were made to racial groups, it was necessary to be mindful of the use of language. In 1948 when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted, the need to recognize equality among human beings was taken into consideration, relying on the lessons from the Second World War. In that period, it was recognized that lasting peace had to be built on the basis of understanding, giving rise to the European project. The European project was created on the understanding that all people were equal. Each country expressed enshrined lessons learned from the Second World War in their national laws and constitutions. France built its institutional system on the principle of the equality of people, resting on the ideals of the French Revolution. Access to knowledge and education was the precondition for emancipation, and Europe inherited that spirit from the age of enlightenment. Shared values permeated Europe and the world, and that was something that people needed to reconnect with: the spirit of empathy towards others. Today such a view of humanity was called into question, which required both structural responses and social solidarity. The United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provided the foundation for a universal society free of discrimination of all forms. France would next month begin its work on the elimination of all forms of discrimination, relying among other things on discussions with international civil society organizations, which were very important in monitoring Governments’ policies. France had armed itself to address that task through various legislation, and President François Holland had announced that the fight against racism and all forms of discrimination would be a national priority in 2015.

DOUDOU DIÈNE, Chair of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, opened his statement by quoting German poet Bertold Brecht, who had said, following the Holocaust, that “the belly is still fertile from which the foul beast sprang.” This paradigm was still very powerful and relevant. The intellectual legitimization of racism and its political exploitation was on the rise. The racist process began by weakening the victims and denying their humanity, then their social and political marginalization, and finally, their physical destruction. There were seeing the final stage. There were two possible readings behind the resurgence of racism. The first was that racism was an inevitable reality that could not be combatted: this was what the racist ideology wanted the world to think. The “clash of civilizations” was an example of this intellectual ideology, and it was dangerous. The other reading was that the surge of racism was the result of an extremely important phenomenon which had to be identified, because it was positive. Behind the surge of racism there was a big identity crisis. All ideas based on race, religion, and belief were now being troubled by the resurgence of diversity and pluralism. The strength of pluralism and diversity meant that new identities were emerging and these were multiple, marked by diversity. They were seeing the birth of new identities, and they needed to identify what was blocking these changes and act on them, by promoting diversity, and by finding the root causes of this resurgence. The changes of identity affected all societies. They needed to identify the resistance to change and fight it.

Changes took place because minorities who had been victims wanted to emerge from the shadows, from the historical silence, and from the political and social invisibility. It was their fight that led to this so-called crisis. There were three ways to fight discrimination. First, it was very important to strengthen legal instruments through law and justice. Second, they had to consider racism as an iceberg, and get to its underlying causes. Elie Wiesel had said that execution always killed twice, the second time by silence. The idea of memory had to be rethought: the memory of the Holocaust was important, but they had to get to the memory of the values underlying this phenomenon. Third, education needed to be rethought by not only conveying knowledge but conveying values.

JOHANNA KOOL-BLOKLAND, Director of the Zeeland Archives, said that the Archives aimed to enable historical learning by using archives in social media, and then showed a film to illustrate one such project. The Zeeland Archive was the primary archival institution for the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands. Its main goal was to create sustained accessibility of paper and digital records, and it hosted the archives of the Middelburg Commerce Company established in 1720 and specialized in the trans-Atlantic or triangular trade, which provided a detailed overview of eighteenth century slave trade and provided a rare insight into the daily life of slave traders and their human cargo. Everyone should be able to learn what triangular trade was, and in order to let the silent witnesses speak, the Archives had designed a blog and an educational website which showcased the trans-Atlantic slave trade from the perspective of one slave voyage, namely the third voyage of the ship The Unity, which had taken place from 1761 to 1763, which could be followed day-by-day. The educational website contained many so-called “twenty-first century skills and competencies”, such as independent learning, information and communication technologies-literacy, critical thinking and problem solving, and aimed to teach students how to interpret and use archival documents in combination with new media. So far, 50,000 unique visitors had visited the blog and had the opportunity to see that slave trade had indeed happened, and that it was the truth, albeit an inconvenient truth. Ten years ago, one teacher and his students had visited the exhibition; today, the trans-Atlantic slave trade was on the curriculum of many primary and secondary schools in the province of Zeeland, and had been entered into the National Canon of Dutch History.

ALI MOUSSA IYÉ, Chief of the Intercultural Dialogue Section at the Division of Cultural Policies and Intercultural Dialogue at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, spoke about the lessons learned from historical tragedies and their use in the fight against racial discrimination today. This was of particular importance now that the United Nations had launched the Decade of Persons of African Descent (2015-2024). Africans and persons of African descent faced triple denial: denial of their humanity while in slavery; denial of their history, due to constant prejudice that Africa had no civilisation and culture; and denial of their citizenship rights through marginalization and social, political and cultural discrimination. More than any other human community, persons of African descent were victims of stigmatization. Prejudices against Africans and persons of African descent were based on the following thinking: the belief that Africa had never contributed to human progress, and that poverty in Africa was proof of their inability to create and innovate. Such thinking led to two types of racism: biological racism based on the theory of inequality of races, and cultural racism which highlighted the inequality of cultures and civilizations. It was against such ideologies that UNESCO had launched several big programmes. It had launched a scientific programme to dismantle biological racism, and a programme called the Project of General and Regional Histories, which aimed to show the contribution of different civilizations to human progress. Other programmes included collections of traditional world music, different international instruments for the protection and promotion of cultural heritage, the project of slave routes launched in 1994, which aimed to interrupt silence on that subject, and the project of international coalition of cities against racism launched in 2004. UNESCO also supported projects that aimed to collect archives on slavery. UNESCO would also like to launch a joint programme with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to better effect the Decade of Persons of African Descent.

Discussion

Algeria, speaking on behalf of the African Group, said that the tragedy of slavery went back six centuries and was linked with colonialism and racial supremacy, while the impact of trans-Atlantic slave trade was being felt even today, with descendants suffering terrible forms of racial discrimination. Ecuador, speaking on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, said that the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action indicated that it was possible to learn from history; slavery and trans-Atlantic slave trade were among the worst forms of crimes against humanity, and a permanent monument in remembrance of the victims of slavery should be erected in front of the United Nations headquarters. The world must act decisively to combat racism, racial discrimination and related intolerance, said the European Union, calling for stronger mobilization of civil society and far more decisive actions by Governments to fully implement their human rights obligations and commitments. Brazil said that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and the outcomes of the Durban Review Conference were landmarks of the international struggle for equality and a world free from discrimination based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin. Egypt said that different forms of racism and racial discrimination remained a source of deep concern, and, noting the recent example from Ferguson, the United States, said that decisive legal and institutional measures were needed, including prohibition of racial profiling by police.

Closing Remarks by the Minister of Justice of France

CHRISTIANE TAUBIRA, Minister of Justice of France, thanked all the participants for taking the time to listen to her remarks. She had been delighted to speak before the Human Rights Council and would take note of the statements after she left. The Durban Conference on Persons of African Descent also needed to be taken into account. More action was needed: there was ongoing poverty and exclusion in various parts of the world. Artistic cultural heritage also needed to be rediscovered from pre-slavery times, when religion, language and various artistic expressions emerged. These generations had shaped the world and they had a responsibility to discover them. Was the world capable of building a new utopia and new ideas for future generations? This was not easy, there was no manual for doing it. Brazil was one of the most linguistic components of the continent. Citing the Brazilian Ambassador to the United Nations, she stated that it was through their footsteps that they could build new ideas.

Discussion

Bahrain said racial discrimination occurred everywhere and every day, and that education was a great tool to tackle its root causes. Bahrain underlined the importance of promoting dialogue and tolerance. Portugal remained alarmed at the persistence of racism and xenophobia in all parts of the world, and welcomed the sharing of good practices to combat this. Portugal’s policies on the integration of migrants had been referred to by many international mechanisms as a good practice. Morocco said no one had a monopoly on history but it was necessary to have a model on education and combatting racism. Promoting tolerance was important to counter radicalism and racism. Morocco underlined the importance of teaching the history of slavery. Ghana said its constitution guaranteed equality and condemned racial discrimination. Ghana noted with disappointment the rise of racism against persons of African descent in many countries and called on all countries to address this. Sweden said learning of historical tragedies was key to combat racism today, and said that it had undertaken far-reaching measures to combat racism but still faced challenges. Djibouti underlined the importance of learning lessons from past tragedies to enable the creation of a collective future. It was important that a central place was given to education and that the provisions of the Durban Declaration and Plan of Action were implemented. Iran said there was a prevalence of insults against people of Asian and African descent motivated by racism or religious affiliation, including attacks against Muslims in different European countries. Such attacks emanated from propagation of racial and anti-Islam hate in some quarters of Western media and political parties.

Indian Council of South America said none of the instruments of the Durban Review Conference had done anything to soothe the plight of indigenous peoples. What could be done to address cases such as those in Alaska, where the Supreme Court ruled that the land was meant for the white race? United Nations Watch called the attention of the panel to Islamist attacks on Jewish communities across Europe, namely in France, Belgium and Denmark. Given the spread of such attacks and ideologies that motivated them, United Nations Watch wondered why the Human Rights Council had not passed a resolution to address that situation. World Jewish Congress said that Jewish minorities were still being attacked and that Jew hatred was still alive and kicking. However, other minorities were not safe either. Anti-Semitism was a reflection of all that was ill and broken in a society.
Sierra Leone stated that between 1750 and 1800, Bunce Island had been a major operation of slavery and a strategic point in the Atlantic slave trade. Bunce Island had to be preserved as it was an important historical site of the slave trade. Namibia stated that this commemoration coincided with the twenty-fifth anniversary of Namibia’s independence from the apartheid regime. Prior to independence, students had been learning only the history of the colonizers which brought distortion and falsification of historic facts. Slovenia was committed to combatting discrimination on all grounds. Effective human rights education and training encouraged a culture of peace and non-discrimination, respect and tolerance. South Africa said history should be taught in its proper context and tolerance and respect for diversity should be the intrinsic value for humanity in the twenty-first century. The world was witnessing resurgent forms of racism and intolerance. Germany said that changing laws was one thing but changing peoples’ minds was another. Germany was committed to the cause of human rights education against racism. Chile had established laws to combat discrimination, especially in reference to indigenous peoples. Racial language during football matches had to be targeted.

Greece underlined the importance of remembering the massacre of Sharpeville in South Africa, which occurred only 55 years ago. The fight against racism everywhere remained unfortunately highly relevant, and was considered a priority by Greece. Costa Rica quoted Nelson Mandela’s intervention before the United Nations General Assembly, and presented Costa Rica’s national policy against racism. Costa Rica underlined the important role of and support by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Latvia said it had always condemned, as a multicultural country, any expression of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia. The school curriculum preserved teachings on slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. Netherlands strongly condemned all forms of intolerance and stressed the need to prevent racism and xenophobia. The use of archives, historical research and other educational activities were a constructive and powerful way to fight racial discrimination. Thailand reiterated its commitment to working closely with the international community to combat racial discrimination. The Internet nowadays was used to propagate hate speech and racist ideas. It was crucial to teach about past tragedies and human rights and to promote a culture of peace and tolerance. Gabon said it was hard to imagine that the phenomena of racism and intolerance still prospered in society, at a time when cultures were more and more interconnected. Gabon agreed that it was important to teach history to build cultures of tolerance.

International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations said that there was no doubt that racism and racial discrimination were rooted in the division of the world that was created by the transatlantic slave trade, slavery and colonialism. International Movement against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism said that many minorities and indigenous communities in the world continued to face racial discrimination. States needed to recognize historical tragedies and promote fact-based teachings to eliminate racial discrimination. AUA Americas Chapter Inc. noted that thousands of Assyrian Christians in the Middle East were displaced and killed simply because they belonged to a different ethnicity and religion. The Iraqi Government was urged to recognize the Assyrians as the indigenous peoples of the country.
Venezuela warned that there was an upsurge of xenophobic and racist acts due to new information technologies. There was also systematic discrimination against migrants. International instruments had to be used to take adequate actions to fight racial, ethnic, xenophobic and other forms of discrimination. China said that despite a lot of progress, the international community still had a lot to do to eliminate racism. In some Western countries, persons of Asian descent faced different forms of racism and discrimination. Russian Federation said the rise of racism was due to economic and social problems, but also to forgetting the past. Some 70 years ago the international community received a message that the ideology of the supremacy of one race over others was dead. That message should always be remembered and history lessons remembered. Cuba said that there was a need to recognize slavery and the trans-Atlantic slave trade as crimes against humanity, and to give reparations to the victims. Cyberspace was being used to promote superiority and ideas based on racial discrimination.
United States Human Rights Network said that race disparities existed in almost all spheres of life. The killings of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Tamir Rice represented a small sample of black people who lost their lives to police violence.

Concluding Remarks

DOUDOU DIÈNE, Chair of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, said that they were living at an extremely important moment. One of the major weapons of racism was to say that discrimination could not be fought effectively. They needed to recognize the resurgence of racist violence, partly because minority victims were unable to fight back through law and justice; they needed help. There was a need to look into the underlying reasons for this resurgence. The ideas of multi-culturalism had to be spread and converted into inter culturalism and promote interaction.

JOHANNA KOOL-BLOKLAND, Director of the Zeeland Archives, said that many had emphasized education as very important. This was one of the means in breaking ongoing denial of discrimination. Among the best practices in the Netherlands were the annual commemorations on ending slavery. It was important for people to be able to talk about it. Another activity was the freedom awards which were a legacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Freedom from fear, freedom from want, freedom for religion, and freedom for speech were basic grounds to make a better world. Archives played a big role in this.

ALI MOUSSA IYÉ, Chief of the Intercultural Dialogue Section, Division of Cultural Policies and Intercultural Dialogue of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, said that all participants had stressed the importance of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Emphasis had also been made on the role of teaching of history and on the need to improve education. The ethical progress of humanity was not linear. There could be retrograde steps under certain circumstances. When it came to combatting racism, this was an unfinished business and it would never be finished. Ethical and political vigilance was very important. Questions were also asked regarding the good practices that could inform public policy practices to combat racism. They needed to look at how to write history. They needed to disarm history from the trend of fostering discrimination and learn how to write stories in an inclusive way. UNESCO had done this based on regional and national histories, and what each civilization could bring into the general progress of humanity.


For use of the information media; not an official record

HRC15/045E