COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION HOLDS GENERAL DEBATE ON MULTICULTURALISM

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this morning held a general debate on multiculturalism with a view to strengthening the Committee’s approach in addressing this issue as it applied to its role to combat discrimination.

Introducing the subject was Committee Expert José Lindgren Alves who said the main areas which the Committee’s recommendations to countries tended to address were the most outstanding aspects of multiculturalist policies, namely education, recognition (or not) of minorities and the treatment of immigrants. While recalling the Committee’s mandate to ensure that States parties abided by and implemented the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, he underlined that disparities existed in terms of how minorities were recognized in States from different regions. Mr. Lindgren Alves also emphasized the importance of the Committee urging States parties to respect the values of immigrants.

Also addressing the debate was Doudou Diene, the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, who said the idea that multiculturalism was a risk which endangered the identity of countries posed challenges. The majority of cases of discrimination were based on cultural differences and the refusal of cultural identity. Multiculturalism was a reality for all countries which was born out of major historical facts and problems arose when people refused to recognize this reality. The challenge to overcome differences posed by multicultural practices was to recognize other cultures while at the same time promoting unity, diversity and interaction.

Committee Experts suggested that the Committee pay increased attention to the concept of multiculturalism while recognizing that each nation had its own history, language and cultural values which should all be respected, promoted and enhanced. One of the Experts said in order to achieve the successful integration of varying cultures a State had to embrace an active policy of equality and opportunity. The main issue was to identify the most serious risks for societies, among them the risk of separatism.

At the end of the debate, Committee Experts briefly discussed the elements to be included in the expanded core document that States parties could submit to the human rights treaty bodies.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. this afternoon it will discuss, under its review procedure, the country situation in Papua New Guinea with relation to its implementation of the Convention.

Introduction

JOSE LINDGREN ALVES, Committee Expert, said what had led him to suggest the debate on multiculturalism had been his concern that some of the recommendations of the Committee may end up "strengthening the search for scapegoats within societies", thereby increasing intolerance and violence against specific groups. The main areas in which the Committee’s recommendations to countries tended to address the most outstanding aspects of multiculturalist policies were education, recognition (or not) of minorities and the treatment of immigrants. These areas directly or indirectly addressed the issues of language, religion, traditional practices and the original values of immigrants vis a vis the values of the receiving society.

Mr. Lindgren Alves said the rights of minorities should not be confused with the rights of indigenous people. In terms of international law, the only existing document addressing the issue of multiculturalism was the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious or Linguistic Minorities, which was approved by the United Nations General Assembly in 1992. The document, although well-intentioned, was widely neglected with no binding implications to the work of the Committee.

The Committee, Mr. Lindgren Alves noted, had adopted some general comments to explain its interpretation of the articles of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination which applied to the way it had been addressing the issue of minorities. Article 8 of the Convention, for example, stated that the identification of individuals as members of a particular racial or ethnic group should be based on self-identification. While recalling the Committee’s mandate to ensure that States parties abided by and implemented the provisions of the Convention, he expressed his doubt that the same rules of recognizing minorities in Europe applied in Africa. Countries in Africa, for example, had to create their own national unity from the fragments of disparaging cultures and nations that were quite often ancestral antagonists. The same applied to Latin American countries, where the population was the result of a mixture of immigrants from Europe and Asia, plus the indigenous peoples. Moreover, to impose on these African and Latin American countries the duty to promote all the languages and values of the minorities that may still exist in their territory was an unrealistic approach.

Mr. Lindgren Alves also emphasized the importance of the Committee urging States parties to respect the values of immigrants. He asked whether it would be wiser for the Committee to recommend to countries of emigration that the emigrants had better respect the laws and values of the receiving States, in order to avoid being pointed at as a cause for their problems.

Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism

DOUDOU DIENE, the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, while citing an African proverb, said the challenge of the international community was to ensure that the "roots of society fed its branches to prevent them from quarrelling". Cultural conflicts were becoming the dominant conflicts of our era. The idea that multiculturalism was a risk which endangered the identity of countries posed challenges.
Mr. Diene added that the majority of cases of discrimination had been based on cultural differences and the refusal of cultural identity. Historically, the refusal to accept the other person was the root of discrimination. When one talked of multiculturalism they should approach it on an ethical basis thus denouncing any refusal of other cultures. Diversity itself was not a response to the problem. An identity construct was the first step where there was a risk of refusing to recognize multiculturalism, Mr. Diene said.

Multiculturalism was a reality for all countries which was born out of major historical facts; problems arose when people refused to recognize this reality. The values of the others in society were often not embraced, which, the Special Rapporteur said, was a refusal of universality itself. The challenge was how one could recognize other cultures while at the same time promoting unity, diversity and interaction.

In closing, Mr. Diene said there was a vital need to wage a fight against racism through an interactive dynamic multiculturalist approach. Moreover, there was a need to protect culturally diverse communities and respect their values.

Discussion

A Committee Expert noted that the term multiculturalism had been recognized in different ways in various regions of the world. The multicultural fabric of nations had developed in a variety of ways, among them by way of generalized immigration and the transplantation of populations, such as the slave trade. In some countries the debates around multiculturalism had been generated in the context of recent and ongoing immigration. He added that the issue of the notion of multiculturalism had been seized upon by right-wing nationalists in certain countries which had developed into concepts such as Islamaphobia, for example. He also called on the Committee to pay increased attention to the concept of multiculturalism, a position echoed by several Committee Experts.

Another Committee Expert drew attention to the fact that each nation had its own history, language and cultural values which should all be respected, promoted and enhanced.

While noting that the Committee had witnessed the struggle of societies to create a constructive and dynamic interaction between minorities and the majority population, another Expert outlined the importance of States respecting multicultural practices, such as their approval of intercultural marriages and the wearing of a headscarf in school.

A Committee Expert added that in order to achieve the successful integration of varying cultures, a State had to embrace an active policy of equality and opportunity. The main issue was to identify the most serious risks for societies, among them the risk of separatism.


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