Original NGO document from the 2001 Durban Conference: NGO Forum: World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance - Durban, South Africa
28 August – 1 September
2001.[i]
Declaration, Guiding
Principles
Progamme of Action, Guiding
Principles
Programme of Action, Legal
Measures
Africans and African
Descendants
Antisemitism
Arab and Middle East
Asians And Asian Descendants
Caste And Discrimination Based on Work
And Descent
Colonialism And Foreign Occupation
(Especially Tibet)
Criminal Justice and Judicial
Systems
Persons with Disabilities
Education
Environmental Racism
Ethnic and National Minorities and
Groups
Gender
Globalization
Hate Crimes
Health and Hiv/aids
Indigenous Peoples
Labour
Media and Communication
Migrants and Migrant Workers
Palestinians and Palestine
Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Stateless and
Internally Displaced Persons
Religious Intolerance
Reparations
Roma Nation and Travelers
Sexual Orientation
Slave Trade And Slavery
Trafficking
Young People, Children and the Girl
Child
Declaration
1. We,
the representatives of local, national and international
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other civil society groups from
around the world gathered in Durban/South Africa during the week of 28 August
– 3 September 2001 for the World Conference against Racism, Racial
Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR), guided by our
commitment in the struggle against racism and racial discrimination and
inspired by the recommendations of the NGO Forums held in Strasbourg/France,
Santiago de Chile/Chile, Dakar/Senegal and Tehran/Iran and the related
sub-regional NGO meetings held in Warsaw/Poland, Kathmandu/Nepal, Cairo/Egypt
and Quito/Ecuador, in preparation for the World Conference, hereby make the
following Declaration:
2. Solemnly
acknowledging all those who suffered for
justice and freedom in South Africa and honouring the memory of those who
sacrificed their lives for the struggle against Apartheid and celebrating the
spirit of the South African people in building a new society free of racism and
racial discrimination and recognising that as a beacon of hope for the world
community.
3. Saluting
all those who struggled against racism, racial discrimination,
genocide, slavery, xenophobia and related intolerance, genocidal practices and
all other forms of discrimination and exclusion, honouring the memory of those
who have given their lives for this struggle, and other struggles against
oppression and encouraging and supporting those that continue to fight against
the scourge of racism.
4. Taking note
of the fact that the declaration of Apartheid as a crime
against humanity was a progressive step taken by the international community in
its quest to eradicate this inhumane racist state system, and recalling the
positive role of the world community in supporting the struggle of the South
African people against Apartheid.
5. Recognizing
that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and
rights, and have the capacity to contribute constructively to the development
and well-being of their societies and, that all human societies ascribed
towards shared values of dignity, equality, justice, tolerance, solidarity,
pluralism and multiculturalism.
6. Reaffirming
that all human rights are universal, indivisible,
interdependent and inalienable, and that all human beings are entitled to all
these rights irrespective of distinction of any kind such as race, class,
colour, sex, citizenship, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender
identity, language, nationality, ethnicity, culture, religion, , caste,
descent, occupation, social/economic status or origin, health, including
HIV/AIDS status, or any other status;
7. Recognizing
the richness of the diversity of cultures, languages,
religions and peoples in the world and the potential within this diversity to
create a world free of racism, racial discrimination, genocide, slavery,
xenophobia and related intolerance,.
8. Recognizing
that racism, racial discrimination, genocide, slavery,
xenophobia and related intolerances are based on an ideological construct that
assigns a certain group of persons a position of political, economic and social
power over others through notions of racial superiority, colour, identity,
dominance purity and majority status.
9. Reaffirming
the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms
of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) definition that racist ideologies are
‘scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust and
dangerous’ and economically devastating and that there is no
justification for racial discrimination in theory and in practice,
anywhere.
10. Recognising
the particular importance and role of the International
Criminal Court in the eradication of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia
and related intolerance and emphasising the need for universal
ratification
11. Considering
that the roots of many contemporary manifestations of racism
and racial discrimination can be located in the legacy of the slave trade,
slavery, colonialism and foreign occupation which led to forced transplantation
of peoples, massive dispossession of territories and resources and the
destruction of political, religious and social systems for which
acknowledgement and reparations were never made, and which created historical
injustices based on ideologies of superiority, dominance and purity, the
consequences of which continue to this day.
12. Acknowledging
that in particular in countries in transition, the growth of
aggressive nationalism and ethnocentrism are expressions of racism and
xenophobia not rooted in the slave –trade but deeply embedded in
historical prejudices and hatred towards ethnic and religious minorities that
often lead to large-scale human rights violations, discrimination and
persecution targeting specific groups such as Jews, Roma, Kurds, people from
the Caucasus and Central Asia, Meskhetian Turks and even frequently resulting
in ‘ethnic cleansing’ and crimes against humanity with elements of
genocide, particularly in the former Yugoslavia and Chechnya.
13. Acknowledging
the role played by United Nations in creating international
legal rights and obligations against racism, racial discrimination, genocide,
slavery, xenophobia and related intolerance, we nevertheless deplore the fact
that efforts undertaken by governments and by the United Nations to implement
these instruments and mechanisms are grossly inadequate, exclude civil society
actors and have allowed perpetrators and accomplices to go
unpunished.
14. Appalled
by the persistent failure of governments and the United
Nations to address injustices and violations committed by non-state actors
including injustices and violations committed by no-state actors, including
international finance and trade institutions, transnational corporations, and
fundamentalist groups exacerbates and perpetuates racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
15. Appalled
by the success and apparent increasing popularity of certain
political parties and other groups that use racist and xenophobic ideologies in
gaining and maintaining political power
16. Recognizing
that state racism is often manifested by political and
intellectual elites who exploit the nationalistic and xenophobic sentiments of
the general public for political mobilization and legitimization of their
authority and political power, not only in the traditional blatant ways but
also in new, more covert, institutionalized forms, aggravated by the problem of
denial of the very existence of racism by government officials.
17. Recognizing
that while all religions are founded on principles that
advocate peace, tolerance, non-discrimination, respect and acceptance of the
other, and that freedom of religion, belief and conscience contribute to the
attainment of the goals of world peace, social justice and mutual understanding
among peoples, yet there are situations in which religion is misused to further
political goals that promote racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance.
18. Considering
that racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance are the basis of gross violations of human rights and hate crimes,
create and maintain conflict, and thus hinder development and constitute a
threat to peace and democracy and must be addressed by all appropriate means,
including effective legal mechanisms at all levels.
19. Affirming
that Indigenous Peoples are bearers of both collective and
individual rights which include their right to self-determination and to the
legitimate exercise of control over their resources and dominion of their
territories on the basis of their historical and cultural identity and have the
right and responsibility to transmit to future generations their ancestral
territories and identity.
20. Affirming
the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination,
statehood, independence and freedom and the right of the return as stipulated
in UN Resolution 194.
21. Also
affirming the right to self-determination of
all peoples, including the Hawaiian, Kurdish, Kashmiri, West Sumatran, West
Papuan, Achenese, Sri Lankan Tamils, Tibetans, Roma and Travellers, the
non-independent territories of the Americas, such as Puerto Rico, Martinique
and Guadalupe, calling on the United Nations to devise mechanisms and
procedures that enable the affirmation of that right, and in particular to
respect UN Security Council Resolution 1359/2001 of June 29, 2001 on Western
Sahara.
22. Acknowledging
50 years of ethnic conflict in Sir Lanka which has resulted in
death, disappearances, rape, torture and destruction and affirming the right to
self determination of the Tamil minority.
23. Recognizing
that certain cultural groups with a distinct identity such as
Sikhs, Mohajirs, Sindhis, Balochs face barriers on a complex interplay of
racial, ethnic, religious and cultural factors
24. Recognizing
that globalization is a historically uneven process based on
colonial and imperialist integration of the world economy and on maintaining
and deepening unequal power relations between countries and regions of the
world that exacerbates, global inequalities and conditions of poverty and
social exclusion
25. Deeply
concerned that current forms of globalization
and policies of international financial and trade institutions as well as the
activities of transnational corporations prevent the full realization of
economic, social and cultural rights of all peoples, maintain and deepen the
social exclusion of groups that are most marginalized and heighten tension and
manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance.
26. Recognizing
that in the context of globalization, discriminatory labour
practices experienced by men and women, youth and children and people with
disablilities and documented and undocumented migrants groups who are already
marginalized by racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance which makes them vulnerable to increased exploitation, poverty, and
social exclusion
27. Recognizing
the rights of all victims of slavery racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance to reparations of all
forms
28. Recognizing
environmental racism as a form of racial discrimination which
refers to exploitation and depletion of natural resources and any environmental
policy, practice, action or inaction that intentionally or unintentionally,
disproportionately harms the health, eco systems, and livelihood of nations,
communities, groups, or individuals, and in particular the poor.
29. Acknowledging
that situations of armed conflict are often generated by
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerances and that
such conflicts in turn perpetuate racism and related forms of discrimination,
emphasise that war crimes must urgently be prosecuted at the national level
notwithstanding the establishment of the International Criminal
Court.
30. Noting
also with concern that armed conflicts create an environment
conducive to heightened militarization, violence against women, young people
and children in particular the girl child, and persons with disabilities, which
result in situations of sexual slavery, rape and forced pregnancies. The
proliferation and prevalence of armed conflict throughout the world,
particularly in Africa where three quarters of the continent is currently
experiencing a state of war or some form of armed conflict, is leading to the
large-scale displacement of persons, massive outflows of refugees and
internally displaced persons and increasing militarization of millions of
children and young people and demand the granting of effective protection to
these groups and respect for international humanitarian law.
31. Denouncing
the direct role played by certain transnational corporations
and governments which lead to an increasing militarization and nuclearization
on a global scale and in particular concerned about trafficking and trading in
arms, the proliferation of the arms and armaments industries, the production of
destructive weapons including landmines and small arms at the cost of spending
on social infrastructure, all of which violated the humanitarian laws of war
and contribute to the perpetuation of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia
and related intolerance, and consequences thereof.
32. Recognizing
the suffering experienced by many people as a result of the
use of weapons of war including weapons of mass destruction, small arms, land
mines against civilians
33. Acknowledging
the violations of the human rights of the people of Vieques,
Puerto Rico because of the actions of the US Navy, we demand an end to these
military practices and return of occupied land to the people of Puerto Rico and
payment of reparation to the victims
34. Condemning
the US blockade of Cuba as a violation of the sovereignty of
the Cuban people which results in gross violations of their human
rights.
35. Denouncing
strategies of some international agreements and international
cooperation, such as the Andean Initiative and the Free Trade Area of the
Americas project, as well as the Plan Colombia, which, under the guise of
carrying out a war against drugs promotes large-scale internal displacement,
accelerates dispossession and aggression against the Indigenous,
Afro-descendants and peasant communities, leading to the denial of human rights
including the right to self-determination, causing environmental degradation
and the growth of militarization in the region
36. Recognizing that the
persistence of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance affirms the need for an inter-sectional analysis of discrimination
which would address forms of multiple discrimination.
37. Noting
that racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance create serious obstacles to the full enjoyment of human rights and
result in aggravated discrimination against communities who already face
discrimination on the basis of class, colour, sex, gender, age, disability,
sexual orientation, gender identity, language, nationality, ethnicity, culture,
religion or caste, descent, work, socio-economic status or origin, health,
including HIV/AIDS status, or any other status.
38. Recognizing
homophobia as a particular form of discrimination and a form of multiple
discrimination that makes gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons even
more vulnerable to all forms of violence including hate crimes and racialised
violence.
39. Affirming
that multiple forms of discrimination against women limit or
negate women’s potential for the full enjoyment and exercise of their
human rights and fundamental freedoms in all spheres of life, that patriarchal
social structures reinforce all forms of discrimination against women
particularly those with disabilities, and that racism also creates other forms
of patriarchal subordination of women.
40. Gravely concerned,
that racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia
and related intolerance adversely affect the full realisation of rights of the
rights of everyone to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and
mental health,
41. Recognising
that people infected with or presumed to be infected with
HIV/AIDS suffer serious forms of discrimination and exploitation., exacerbated
by the WTO regulations which deny access to affordable treatments.
42. Recognising
the important role played by young people in the preparation
and the follow up of the WCAR and in adopting the Plan of Action submitted at
the Youth Summit of the WCAR , acknowledge that young people are affected by
multiple forms of discrimination which limit the full realisation of human
rights, resulting in denial of their right to self-determination thus limiting
their full and active political, economic, and social participation.
43. Recognizing
that the slave trade, slavery and colonialism as crimes
against humanity reinforced by apartheid and other policies of racial
segregation and that the failure and refusal to acknowledge and make
reparations for these crimes against humanity have played a critical role in
entrenching racism, racial discrimination, anti-black hostilities, xenophobia
and related intolerance. Consequently, African and African descendants are
prime victims of deep seated racist and prejudicial practices which are
manifest in current day exclusion and marginalization which they face in the
African Diaspora and in Africa, which has paid and continues to pay a heavy
price for this.
44. Recognizing
that Asians and Asian Descendants including ethnic and
religious minorities in Asian countries have experienced and continue to
experience specific forms of racism and xenophobia from the legacy of slavery,
colonialism, Apartheid, indentured servitude, internment, and exclusionary
migration laws.
45. Concerned
about increasing antisemitism which leads to violence and hate
crimes against Jewish people in particular and passivity of governments in many
countries with regard to prosecuting perpetrators of criminal hate
acts.
46. Concerned
that Anti-Arab racism is another form of anti-semitism and
Islamaphobia that have led to violence and hate crimes.
47. Denouncing
the pervasive nature of hate crimes, ethnic cleansing and
genocide and other crimes against humanity including wars committed against
members of communities that face colonialism, racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance and those who advocate for social change and
self-determination
48. Affirming
that members of far too many minority communities, including
national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities are collectively and
individually subject to all forms of racism and institutionalized
discrimination including denial of citizenship, exclusion from political
participation, denial of access to resources and a dignified standard of
living, political repression and genocidal practices because some nation-state
structures that are majoritarian deny the rights of minority communities
including the right of self-determination.
49. Recognizing
that the Chechen people still suffer large-scale violations of
human rights and international humanitarian standards we stress that military
operations in Chechnya are accompanied by a wide-scale hate campaign towards
the Chechens, which in particular results in mass persecution and
discrimination against people originating from the region of the Caucasus when
they travel or reside outside their region.
50. Acknowledging
that the Roma, who are a non-territorial nation, dispersed in
a worldwide diaspora are denied their right to a cultural identity, are
disadvantaged and experience discrimination, persecution, stigmatization, and
violence on the basis of their social origin and identity.
51. Recognizing
that Travelers experience comparable levels of racism and
oppression to Roma throughout the world and in particular to the denial of
their social, cultural, political and economic rights.
52. Recognizing that the
caste system discriminates against and enables segregation of communities on
the basis of work and descent, such as Dalits in South Asia, the Buraku people
of Japan, the Osu and Oru people of Nigeria and the Griots of Senegal and other
communities resulting in flagrant violations of human rights and dignity, with
women and children of these communities being particularly vulnerable to
barbaric forms of violence.
53. Deploring
the lack of policies and programs that effectively address the
inter-sectionality of the multiple forms of discrimination particularly faced
by people with disabilities.
54. Noting
with deep concern that racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance against documented and undocumented
migrants, migrant workers and members of their families, refugees, asylum
seekers, stateless and displaced persons is structural and systematic in
character, is reflected in discriminatory legislation, policies and social and
corporate practices, and manifest in both subtle and overt acts of hostility
and violence against specific groups on the basis of differences in language,
customs, religions, culture language, origin, customs and position in
international power relations
55. Recognizing
that xenophobia is a particular form of discrimination and
intolerance which describes prejudices, practices, attitudes and behaviour that
oppresses and rejects, excludes and vilifies persons who are already
discriminated against because they are, or are presumed to be, foreigners or
people of different ethnic, religious, linguistic or cultural
background.
56. Gravely
concerned about the failure of states to
protect the rights of all those living within their borders especially in the
face of increasing xenophobic acts against migrants, migrant workers and
members of their family, refugees, asylum seekers, trafficked, stateless and
internally displaced persons and in particular concerned about oppressive and
restrictive immigration policies, the criminalization, stigmatisation,
targeting and victimisation of these groups.
57. Noting
with concern the increasing numbers of refugees, asylum
seekers, stateless and internally displaced persons, including those displaced
by economic processes and developmental projects most of whom are women and
children, whose rights are not fully and appropriately protected by the
relevant international, regional and sub-regional legal instruments or national
legislation, and who consequently are more vulnerable to racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in the receiving regions and
countries
58. Recognizing
that trafficking in persons as a contemporary form of slavery
based on patriarchal notions of sexuality and exacerbated by economic
inequalities which primarily affects women and children of poor and
marginalized communities and which takes place within and across many countries
across the world including in Mauritania, Sudan, Cameroon and Niger.
59. Recognizing
the need to give special consideration to the concerns and
needs of victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance including women, children, young people, persons with disabilities,
people of African descent, Indigenous Peoples, gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgendered persons, disabled persons, the impoverished, and persons living
in situations or countries in conflict, who are discriminated against by the
criminal justice system, as well as to the incarceration and withholding of
legal rights and services to asylum seekers and refugees.
60. Recognizing
that victims of slavery, genocide, racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance have the right to effective
civil remedies and criminal sanctions against government agencies , corporate
institutions and their employees We also recognize that these victims, for
victims have been disparately and , disproportionately targeted, prosecuted and
sentenced due to their race, caste, nationality, ethnic background, religious
beliefs or other differences.
61. Drawing
inspiration from the slogan of the WCAR, ‘UNITED TO
COMBAT RACISM: EQUALITY, JUSTICE AND DIGNITY’ and hopeful that the World
Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related
Intolerance will affirm the commitment of the United Nations to developing
practical, action oriented measures and strategies to combat racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
62. Convinced that the World Conference against Racism,
Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance will be an important
occasion for healing, reconciliation and emancipation of the victims of racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and encouraged by
the growing universal movement driven by civil society committed for the
creation of a world free from racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerances.
Programme of
Action
194. Racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance are forms of discrimination based on
historically unjust social, economic and political orders. These phenomena
mutate, re-invent and continue to manifest themselves in contemporary
societies, causing severe psychological scars and perpetuating deep inequality
and poverty. Therefore, this Programme of Action, whilst acknowledging the past
and its impact on the present, is forward looking, and requires a concerted and
sustained effort from members of the global community in order to
succeed.
195. Racism and racial discrimination are
founded on ideologies of racial supremacy that have historically and
systematically denied certain groups of people full enjoyment of their human
rights and fundamental freedoms. The restoration of dignity to those who have
suffered the consequences of these ideologies is central to our
humanity.
196. The proliferation of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance is sustained by a lack of
political will on the part of governments and other political, economic and
social actors. This indicates the magnitude of the task and the difficulties
that lie ahead in eradicating racism.
197. The eradication of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, particularly contemporary
forms of slavery, calls for a radical transformation of society, and for a
re-ordering of global institutions which are presently dominated by rich
countries and which have created a framework within which racist and other
discriminatory practices can continue to flourish.
198. Within this context, the UN should,
as a priority, initiate and engage in a process of restructuring that could
more effectively implement the universal values of equality and justice as
envisaged by the UN Charter, and work towards redressing current imbalances in
global structures with a focus on addressing the core issue of poverty and
inequality.
199. In light of the above, the NGO Forum
for the WCAR salutes the courage of all those who have resisted and who
continue to resist racism and all other forms of discrimination and commits to
support all efforts aimed at redressing past and present violations through
reparations and other remedies, based on the acknowledgement of racism derived
from historical privileges and prevailing in every part and country of the
world.
LEGAL
MEASURES
We the NGO Forum:
200. Recognizing
that racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance constitute gross violations of human rights which threaten and
undermine democratic societies and the Rule of Law and that institutional and
structural racism manifests itself directly and indirectly in the laws,
policies and practices of governments, institutions, public service sector and
multinationals, declare that these violations must be addressed by appropriate
legal measures, policies and practices
201. Recognizing
that Global economic institutions such as the World Bank, the
International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organizations are dominated by
the G7 countries and that they perpetuate economic and social injustices in the
developing nations, call upon the United Nations to urgently review and address
the structural imbalances and inequalities in such institutions, in order to
ensure equal access of opportunity and equality between developed and
developing nations. All States and governments and the United Nation should
ensure that these institutions meet all human rights standards and universal
values.
202. Recognizing
that multinationals operate in a Global environment without
effective laws, policies and practices to regulate them. Multinationals are
often guilty of committing gross human rights violations in developing
countries and that this perpetuates economic, political and social injustice
thus causing further instability. We call upon the UN to appoint a special
Rapporteur whose mandate should be to investigate and to report on the role of
multinationals in the commission of gross human rights violations and such
practices that perpetuate racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance in all countries. The Report should make specific recommendations
relating to the establishment of a Special Covenant to govern the conduct of
multinationals globally
203. Recognizing
that the structure of the Security Council perpetuates
economic and social injustice and racism, call upon the United Nations to
restructure the Security Council to address the imbalance in voting powers that
has resulted in the perpetuation of racism for decades. Such restructuring
should address the issue of permanent and non-permanent membership so as to
ensure equity in the decision making process.
204. Recognizing
the concerns of marginalized groups and persons within the
global community of the role and accountability of the Judiciary about the
application and interpretation of laws the impact of which perpetuates racism.
We call upon the Commission on Human rights to expand the mandate of the
Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers to deal with
questions of accountability of the Judiciary and make recommendations in
respect thereof. The mandate of the Rapporteur should also include
recommendations on the training of Judges particularly in the areas of human
rights and humanitarian law and contemporary forms of racism within the system.
The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism should have his mandate
extended similarly.
205. Recognizing
that the efforts of the UN High Commissioner to effect
positive changes in Humanitarian law are severely hampered by the paucity of
the budget allocated to such office, call upon the UN to provide that office
with a regular and proper budget to ensure its effective functioning of that
office.
206. Recognizing
that globalization reinforces the exploitation and exclusion
of developing countries from the full benefit of economic and political and
social development call upon Governments to cancel the debts of developing
countries.
207. Recognizing
that whilst States are signatories to International and
regional Instruments, yet seldom comply with their obligations in terms
thereof, thus perpetuating a culture of impunity. We therefore call upon all
States to ratify without reservation, and implement all international and
regionalinstruments. In particular:-
· The International Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD);
· The International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (ICPR);
· The International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR);
· The Convention on the Elimination
of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and its additional
Protocol;
· The Convention on the Protection
of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families
(MWC);
· The Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court (ICC);
· The Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Convention Against
Torture);
· The International Convention on
the Rights of the Child (CRC); and
· The Vienna Declaration and Program
of Action.
· The African Charter on Human and
Peoples Rights
· The African Charter on the Welfare
and Rights of the Child
· The OAU Convention on Specific
Aspects on Refugees in Africa
· Convention Relating to the Status
of Refugees
· European Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms including Protocol 12 to
this convention
· European Convention on Regional
and Minority Languages
· European Framework Convention on
Ethnic Minorities
· European Social Charter and
Optional Protocol allowing for submission of collective complaints
· The American Convention on Human
Rights
· The American Declaration on the
Rights and Duties of Man
· The First Optional Protocol to the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Optional Protocol
to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women, allowing for the submission of individual and group
complaints
· All ILO Conventions as well as
UNESCO instruments
· The UN Convention on Transnational
Organized Crime and Supplementary Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children
· 1949 Convention for the
Suppression of Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the
Prostitution
· Stockholm Agenda for Action
Addressing the Sexual Exploitation of Children
The following measures should be
addressed:
208. Urge
States to adopt the draft Optional Protocol to the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights providing for a
system of individual and collective complaints.
209. Recognizing
the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights
at Work which holds governments responsible for respecting and promoting a set
of fundamental rights for workers, including freedom of association, the
elimination of forced labour, the abolition of child labour, and the
prohibition against discrimination in employment, as well as ILO Convention169
on Indigenous Peoples and Conventions 97 and 143 on Migrant Workers.
210. Recognizing
the value and importance of the binding general comments
issued by ICERD, we call upon States to:
211. Implement
Art. 6 of ICERD which assures effective protection and
remedies to victims of racism and racial discrimination and accept the right to
just and fair compensatory measures for victims of racism and racial
discrimination.
212. Implement
Art. 7 of ICERD, which targets education as an essential, mean
for combating racism.
213. Lift
any reservations to ICERD, and declare under Article 14 of the
Convention that it recognizes the competence of the UN Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) to accept the filing of individual
complaints to the Committee.
214. Support
the UN in strengthening the role of CERD to allow for
enforceable sanctions in cases where CERD's Concluding Observations on the
monitoring of States are not complied with by governments within a reasonable
period of time.
215. Request that State
reports to CERD should include race and sex disaggregated data on the impact
and effect of the adopted legislation.
216. Develop
in accordance with Article 71 of Part 2 of The Vienna
Declaration a Program of Action that requires "each State to consider the
desirability of drawing up a national action plan identifying steps whereby the
State would improve the protection and promotion of human rights", which
include plans of action aimed at fighting racism, institutional or otherwise,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and promote
partnership relations with civil society mainly through specialized independent
national institutions on human rights and equality.
217. Create
effective National institutions on human rights and equality.
These institutions should be independent and have the power to monitor the
implementation of anti-discriminatory legislation, to provide assistance and
legal aid to victims and their families, to have recourse to judicial
authorities, and to have investigative, enforcement and policy making powers.
These institutions should reflect in their composition, the diversity of the
society at large. They should be funded adequately and should function without
interference from the State and with all the guarantees necessary for their
independence and impartiality
218. Fully
comply with international humanitarian law obligations and
respect non-discrimination provisions binding on all parties to an armed
conflict and ensure that the United Nations Special Rapporteurs are always
granted admission to all territories of armed conflict...
219. Adopt
and implement comprehensive legislation expressly prohibiting
discrimination in all spheres of life, including but not limited to education,
housing, employment, health care, social services, access to citizenship,
access to public places and all other goods and services available to the
public. Such legislation should integrate a full gender dimension, taking into
consideration the intersectional discrimination faced by marginalized
communities and vulnerable groups. The implementation of such legislation
should be periodically reviewed.
220. Mainstream
the issue of combating racism into all national policies and
practices, including all spheres of public life. Mainstreaming should include
the application of equality proofing, guidelines, positive actions, data
production, proactive monitoring and impact assessment. All groups experiencing
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerances should be
encouraged to participate in such activities.
221. Identify
and combat institutionalized racism in every sphere in which
it appears and systematically combat racist and xenophobic attitudes within
governmental institutions and the public sector and to review all existing
legislation, administrative procedures and rules, including those on
citizenship, nationality and immigration to ensure that no provisions are
discriminatory.
222. Civil
society should be involved in the design, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation of all policies and programmes to combat and prevent
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
223. Ensure
that, in accordance with International Human rights standards,
all groups and persons whose rights have been violated have access to
reparation.
224. Ensure
the protection of persons or organizations that lay complaints
and report incidents of racism, discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance.
225. Establish
programs of affirmative action to include persons affected by
racism, racial and gender discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in
the recruitment, hiring, training, retention and promotion within the criminal
justice system, particularly those impacted by the intersectionality of these
grounds.
226. Urge
States to adopt policies to ensure that public funds are
provided only to organizations that have non-discrimination
policies.
227. Urge
States to recognize the need for uniform measures and the
collection of disaggregated data on racial and gender disparities in the
enjoyment of fundamental human rights, the complexities in establishing such
uniform standards, the need to work with NGOs in developing such measures and
collecting such data, and to commit to the public disclosure and dissemination
of that data.
228. Urge
States to acknowledge the need for technical and financial
support to develop and implement uniform measures and the collection of
disaggregated data on racial disparities and commit to the establishment of an
international trust to provide for such assistance.
229. Call upon
the UN to organize a follow-up conference in 2005 in order to
evaluate the progress made by States, governments and civil society in the
fight against racism and to put in place mechanisms to monitor implementation
at an international level of all regional and national action plans.
Declaration
63. Africans and African Descendants
share a common history shaped by the slave trade, slavery, conquest,
colonisation and apartheid, all of which constitute crimes against humanity,
and a common experience of anti-Black racism. We acknowledge that people of
African descent live all over the world, although in many instances they have
been renamed, suppressed and marginalized. On every continent African and
African Descendants continue to suffer from racism, discrimination, doctrines
and practices of racial supremacy, hate violence and related intolerance. It is
the complexity and intersection of these historical and continuing common
roots, experiences and struggles to overcome them, that bind Africans and
African Descendants together as a world community.
64. We affirm that the Trans-Atlantic
Slave Trade and the enslavement of Africans and African Descendants was a crime
against humanity and a unique tragedy in the history of humanity, and that its
roots and bases were economic, institutional, systemic and transnational in
dimension.
65. We further acknowledge the negative
impact of the Trans-Saharan and Trans-Indian Ocean Slave Trade and
slavery.
66. We recognise that the Trans-Atlantic
Slave Trade and slavery, which constitute crimes against humanity, forced the
brutal removal and the largest forced migration in history (over one hundred
million), caused the death of millions of Africans, destroyed African
civilizations, impoverished African economies and formed the basis for
Africa’s under-development and marginalization which continues to this
date. We acknowledge that Africa was dismembered and divided among European
powers, which created Western monopolies for the continued exploitation of
African natural resources for the benefit of Western economies and
industries.
67. We recognise also that part of the
Trans-Saharan Slave Trade continues unabated to this day, despite international
agreements that condemn slavery, and that the trafficking of African men, women
and children for forced labour and enslavement is still ongoing in Cameroon,
Mauritania, Niger and Sudan whilst these and other forms of involuntary
servitude of Africans and African Descendants have resulted in substantial and
lasting economic, political and cultural damage to the continent. This form of
exploitation is particularly damaging to African and African Descendant women,
who are still victims of sexual trafficking and sexual exploitation.
68. We condemn the Trans-Atlantic Slave
Trade, slavery and colonization as crimes against humanity. Whereas Western
economic institutions criminally exploited Africans and their descendants, used
criminally transported people of Africa as chattel and continued to breed
Africans as chattel. Post-slavery African Descendants have endured official and
de facto segregative policies of governments, affecting political, economic,
educational, cultural and social rights, causing and legitimising theft of land
and racial violence. African Descendants have suffered the loss of their
culture, identities, and languages and have been victimised by the perpetuation
of negative stereotypes, psychological damage, racial discrimination, economic
disadvantage and the criminalisation of their peoples. These conditions have
uniquely impacted African and African Descendant women whose bodies, familial
roles and reproductive ability have been used as a tool of oppression and
exploited for the production of economic wealth and whose forced labour under
inhumane circumstances and the use of specific negative stereotypes all have
been and continue to be used to maintain the subordinate position of African
and African Descendant women at the bottom of the social, economic, cultural
and political system.
69. We recognise that the development of
Africa has been greatly impeded by the global imbalances in power created by
the slave trade, slavery and colonialism as crimes against humanity and other
forms of exploitation and is maintained and extended particularly by
neo-colonial economic policies and practices including the pillage of human and
material resources of Africa and the draining of its financial resources by
foreign debt services. The legacy of these abhorrent crimes is manifested in
wars, displacements and the precarious socio-economic situation in which
Africans find themselves.
Programme of
Action
230. We call on the Sub-commission on the
Protection and Promotion of Human Rights to establish a Working Group on
African and African Descendants throughout the world.
231. We strongly call on the UN to
establish, within one year from this World Conference Against Racism, an
international tribunal to measure the extent of the damages resulting from the
slave trade, slavery and colonialism on Africans and African Descendants. We
call on the United Nations to establish and resource a world institute based in
Africa and dedicated to research, fact finding and resource networking for
Africans and African Descendants in the Diaspora.
232. We call on all States to recognise
anti-Black racism as a form of racism with its own specificities that manifests
itself particularly against Africans and African Descendants.
Declaration:
77. Antisemitism is one of the oldest,
most pernicious and prevalent forms of racism which still exists and is even
increasing in many areas of the world; recognizing the dehumanization,
persecution and genocide of Jews in the Holocaust, as well as other minorities
during and before World War II; deeply alarmed by the continued activities of
proponents of Holocaust denial and Holocaust revisionism, Holocaust
trivialization, Holocaust minimization and by the channelling of racist
rhetoric and calls to violence on the Internet; noting with distress that
Jewish people still suffer from persisting prejudices and are victims of a
deeply rooted antisemitism in many countries throughout the world; distressed
by the recent desecration of many Jewish cemeteries, synagogues, and Jewish
communal buildings and other property, as well as an increase in harassment and
assaults of Jewish people worldwide; convinced of the necessity of more
effective measures to address the issue of antisemitism worldwide today in
order to counter these phenomena and increase awareness about them.
78. Antisemitism remains a pervasive and
ingrained form of religious discrimination and Jewish people are increasingly a
racialized minority; recognizing that Jewish populations and institutions
continue to be targets of threats and acts of violence in countries around the
world, and documented overt acts of antisemitic harassment and vandalism are on
the rise; alarmed that extremist groups are proliferating at an alarming rate
and propagating antisemitic and racist views and hate propaganda, increasingly
on the Internet; deeply troubled by the electoral successes of far right
parties, with an increasing presence in coalition governments; profoundly
concerned that in many countries in the world, Jewish people live in fear,
frequently terrorized by extremist groups, and discriminated against in
employment, education, in the media and social services.
Programme of
Action
247. Ensure that all members of civil
society clearly and publicly condemn all forms of antisemitism; recognize the
responsibility of public officials to publicly disavow hate mongers, hate
speech, and other forms of expression which spread, incite, promote or justify
acts of antisemitism; ensure that appropriate anti-discrimination legislation
exists and is adequately implemented to ensure that action is taken against
individuals and institutions responsible for discrimination and criminal acts
against Jews, and the denigration of Jews; promote concrete actions which will
counteract and prevent the increase of antisemitic incidents and hostile action
against Jews as well as the rise of radical and violent movements which foster
racist ideologies and discriminatory practices against the Jewish community;
promote Holocaust remembrance, notably through education and the organization
of cultural or media events, including the promotion of national days of
Holocaust remembrance,
248. Include the subject of antisemitism
in anti-racist education for students and teachers, and in all teaching
materials, particularly in history and social science books; introduce measures
to eliminate antisemitic propaganda, and antisemitic references in school
curricula, textbooks and the media; promote public awareness and tolerance
through non-formal education and the media; give Jewish youth an opportunity to
take an active role in educating the world about the evil that necessarily
results from Jew hatred; promote a voluntary internet code of conduct and other
voluntary measures against the purveying of sites that promote racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; encourage the United
Nations within the context of the UN Decade of Human Rights Education, to
establish a month each year dedicated to promoting responsible use of the
internet with a particular focus on the internet.
Declaration
79. Arabs as a Semitic people have also
suffered from alternative forms of anti semitism, manifesting itself as anti
Arab discrimination and for those Arabs who are Muslim, also as
Islamophobia.
Declaration:
80. Asians and Asian Descendants face
deep-seated racism and xenophobia, lack access to political, economic and
social opportunities, are denied civil rights and liberties, and are victims of
especially violent hate crimes, racial profiling, discriminatory employment and
unjust immigration policies and practices. In some cases communities such as
Sikhs and others with distinct identities composed of a complex interplay of
racial, ethnic, religious and cultural factors face institutional
discrimination due to the fact that they do not fit into traditional notions of
race and ethnicity.
81. We note with concern that despite the
contributions they have made to the countries where they live, and regardless
of their long history of residence in these countries, Asians and Asian
descendants continue to face distortion or omissions of their role in history
in school texts and the media, and are viewed as inassimilable foreigners,
security risks, spies and terrorists.
82. We are concerned that Diasporic Asian
descendants are often criminalized and used as scapegoats for social and
economic problems and international conflicts, and are subject to laws and
practices that overtly and systematically discriminate against them.
83. We note with concern that Asian and
Asian Descendant women in particular suffer many of the negative effects of
globalization and of the intersection of sexism, racism and poverty, for
example as manifested in the portrayal of Asian women as submissive and exotic
sexual objects in the media as well as in traditional and historical negative
attitudes that make them vulnerable to trafficking for prostitution as mail
order brides, domestic workers, low wage or sweat shop workers, and as bonded
labour.
Programme of Action
249. In situations of civil and
international conflicts in Asia, including armed struggles between ethnoracial,
religious, national, or caste groups, international human rights organizations
must be given the right to investigate and document cases of rape, child abuse,
ethnic cleansing, detention without trial, custodial deaths, and
disappearances. The international community should be encouraged to impose
sanctions against nation states that act with impunity and refuse to comply
with their obligations under international human rights law, and courts should
pursue prosecution of the perpetrators of heinous crimes.
250. We call on the UN Sub-Commission on
the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights to establish a Working Group on
Asian and Asian Descendant populations including ethnic and religious
minorities in Asian countries. We further call on all states to create
Commissions with sufficient resources and with NGO participation to identify,
examine and address issues of discrimination and persecution against Asians and
Asian descendants based on race, ethnicity, caste, languages, religion,
citizenship or migrant status, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity,
disability and other factors.
251. We call on states to institute
programmes and policies to protect Asians and Asian descendants from police
misconduct and hate crimes, to ensure the full inclusion and equality of Asians
and Asian descendants through access to fair immigration policies, as well as
fair access to employment, housing and financial resources, and in particular
to acknowledge and value the work of Asians and Asian descendant women by
protecting them from exploitation through such policies and
programmes.
252. We call upon states, media and
academic institutions to address racism, xenophobia and stereotyping of Asians
and Asian descendants by promoting their appropriate and diverse representation
in text books, courses and both entertainment and news media and by ensuring
their fair access to media through relevant licensing and regulatory
bodies.
Declaration
84. Work and descent based
discrimination, including caste discrimination and untouchability, being a
historically entrenched, false ideological construct sanctioned by religion and
culture, which is hereditary in nature and affects over 300 million people in
the Asia Pacific and African regions at the personal, social and structural
levels, irrespective of their religious affiliation.
85. The practice of untouchability,
rooted in the caste system, stigmatises 260 million Dalits in South Asia as
‘polluted’ or ‘impure’, thereby denying them entry into
places of religious worship, participation in religious festivals, assigning
them menial and degrading work including cleaning toilets, skinning and
disposal of dead animals, digging graves and sweeping, and the forced
prostitution of Dalit women and girls through the traditional system of temple
prostitution (Devadasi).
86. The system of ‘Hidden
apartheid’ based on caste practices of distinction, exclusion and
restrictions denies Dalits’ enjoyment of their economic, social,
political, cultural and religious rights, exposing them to all forms of
violence and manifests itself in the segregation of housing settlements and
cemeteries, segregation in tea stalls (‘two-cup’ system), denial of
access to common drinking water, restaurants, places of worship, restrictions
on marriage and other insidious measures all of which inhibit their development
as equals.
87. Caste discrimination and
‘untouchability’ practised against generations of Dalits for
centuries together amounts to systemic ‘generational and cultural
Daliticide’, which is the mass-scale destruction of their individual and
collective identity, dignity and self-respect for generations through cultural
methods and practices.
88. Any action or even any sign of an
attempt to act by Dalits either individually or collectively to assert their
rights is met with extreme measures of violence such as burning or destruction
of their homes, property and crops, social boycott, rape or gang rape of Dalit
women and murder by dominant caste individuals or groups, police or the
bureaucracy, and that in such instances the State often acts with impunity and
in connivance with these perpetrators.
89. Work and descent based discrimination
against the Buraku people of Japan has existed for over 400 years and continues
to be experienced today by over 3 million people in relation to marriage,
employment and education, with new forms of discrimination emerging such as
discriminatory propaganda and incitement to discrimination against them,
especially on the Internet.
90. The vulnerability of the victims of
work and descent based discrimination, including caste discrimination and
untouchability, is aggravated by legal systems and law enforcement machinery
that fail to protect them and hence are responsible for the continued
perpetuation of discrimination, and by States that are themselves often the
law-breakers.
Programme of
Action
267. Enact suitable legislation to
recognise and eradicate discrimination based on work and descent, including
caste discrimination and untouchability against Dalits, Buraku people and other
affected communities, in those countries where such legislation does not exist;
and in countries where legislation banning such discrimination already exists,
take immediate steps to create transparent and effective monitoring mechanisms
including the establishment of time-bound programmes to ensure effective
implementation of such legislation, even where the perpetrators are States or
State agents.
268. Declare work and descent based
discrimination, including caste discrimination and untouchability, as Crimes
against Humanity and enact and enforce legislation to guarantee the right to
life and security, particularly the women and children of these communities, to
criminalise violence, atrocities and incitement to discrimination and violence
committed against these communities, and to effectively and speedily prosecute
offenders at all levels.
269. Enforce speedy and effective legal
and programmatic measures to abolish the traditional practice of the Devadasi
system and to rehabilitate the Dalit women and improve the quality of their
lives by giving them access to arable lands, proper housing, gainful employment
and education.
270. Undertake a survey of the situation
of the Buraku people in Japan to ascertain the nature and extent of the
discrimination they continue to face despite the enactment of temporary
‘Special Measures’ by the Government of Japan, and take all
necessary legal, administrative and other measures to eradicate such
discrimination.
271. Ensure that these communities, who
have contributed to the nation-building process through their massive but
unrecognised and silent labour, are protected by law from exploitation of their
labour, including the implementation of laws that provide for a living wage and
prohibit child labour, bonded labour and manual scavenging. Also implement laws
relating to land reform that would guarantee access to and control of land for
these communities, and ensure that these lands are officially registered in the
name of women of these communities.
272. Create and strengthen transparent
policies and systems of affirmative action, irrespective of religious
affiliation, that enhance the access of these communities, especially their
women, to higher government posts, including scientific institutions, and to
posts in the government administration, the judiciary, law enforcement agencies
and the private sector, including multinational corporations.
273. Allocate adequate funds to guarantee
the enjoyment of their rights to livelihood, land, education, housing, potable
drinking water, sanitation, health and employment opportunities, with special
emphasis on their women, and establish effective monitoring mechanisms to
ensure full and proper utilisation of available funds.
274. Undertake mass-scale public
awareness raising and educational initiatives, with the active support of NGOs
and other segments of civil society, in order to promote positive changes in
attitudes towards and within communities discriminated against on the basis of
work and descent based discrimination, for which the necessary budget
allocation shall be earmarked by the State.
275. Introduce measures of reparation for
the centuries-old wrongdoings committed against these communities through
legislation and appropriate machineries for the purpose of restitution,
monetary compensation, rehabilitation and for ensuring guarantees of
non-repetition.
276. The United Nations to ensure the
implementation by the States of all relevant recommendations and resolutions of
the UN human rights treaty monitoring bodies and of the UN Sub-Commission on
the Promotion of Human Rights, and immediately appoint a UN Special Rapporteur
to study the question of work and descent based discrimination, including caste
discrimination and untouchability, against these communities in different parts
of the world.
277. NGOs to lobby to ensure that the
relevant Governments are made accountable to Parliament and to the UN Committee
on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination for their implementation of
policies and programmes aimed at eradicating work and descent based
discrimination, including caste discrimination and untouchability, by
constitutionally mandating their Governments to submit and openly discuss the
annual reports of National Human Rights Institutions.
Declaration:
95. Colonialism represents one of the
most serious violations of national sovereignty of states and breach of
international law, and in almost all colonial territories serious crimes
against humanity were committed by colonial powers.
96. Foreign occupation creates an
environment in which the occupied people are exposed to a wide range of
systemic and gross violations of human rights and freedoms, including
dispossession, displacement and denial of their right to self determination and
women of occupied territories are subjected to rape, sexual slavery, forced
pregnancy and other forms of violence against women.
97. Acknowledging that a foreign
occupation which imposes an alien domination and subjugation with the denial of
territorial integrity amounts to colonialism (according to the principles of
the ‘Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries
and Peoples’ of the UN General Assembly 1960) and denies the fundamental
rights of self determination, independence and freedom of the people under
occupation. It also creates an environment in which the occupied people are
exposed to a wide range of systematic and gross violations of human rights and
freedom. We extend our solidarity to the struggles for self –
determination for people of Palestine, West Sumatra, Aceh-Sumatra,
Bougainville, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, North Cyprus, and
other states and indigenous communities including the Kurdish people, the
indigenous people in the north east of India and in the north east of Sri
Lanka, in Tibet, Kashmir, Bhutan, Mindanao and the non independent
countries of the Caribbean, like Puerto Rico and recognize the situation of
other people living under foreign occupation in different parts of the
world.
98. Recognizing further that the
Palestinian people are one such people currently enduring a colonialist,
discriminatory military occupation that violates their fundamental human right
of self-determination including the illegal transfer of Israeli citizens into
the occupied territories and establishment of a permanent illegal Israeli
infrastructure; and other racist methods amounting to Israel’s brand of
apartheid and other racist crimes against humanity. Recognizing therefore that
the Palestinian people have the clear right under international law to resist
such occupation by any means provided under international law until they
achieve their fundamental human right to self-determination and end the Israeli
racist system including its own brand of apartheid.
99. Recognizing further that a basic
“root cause” of Israel’s on going and systematic human rights
violations, including its grave breaches of the fourth Geneva convention 1949
(i.e. war crimes), acts of genocide and practices of ethnic cleansing is a
racist system, which is Israel’s brand of apartheid. One aspect of this
Israeli racist system has been a continued refusal to allow the Palestinian
refugees to exercise their right as guaranteed by international law to return
to their homes of origin. Related to the right of return, the Palestinian
refugees also have a clear right under international law to receive restitution
of their properties and full compensation. Furthermore, international law
provides that those Palestinian refugees choosing not to return are entitled to
receive full compensation for all their losses. Israel’s refusal to grant
Palestinian refugees their right of return and other gross human rights and
humanitarian law violations has destabilized the entire region and has impacted
on world peace and security.
100. We are appalled at the situation of
thirty million Kurdish people scattered in several countries including Turkey,
Iraq, Iran and Syria, who are oppressively prevented from exercising their
national legitimate rights of self determination. We deplore the
policies of genocide and practices of ethnic cleansing against the Kurds. We
strongly condemn all forms of discrimination against the Kurds, such as
confiscation of their lands, deportation and displacement of population,
destruction of their culture, denial of their civil rights as well as their
cultural and political rights.
101. We recognise the situation of
6 million Tibetan people suffering under 50 years of the occupation of their
country who continue to suffer institutionalized forms of racial discrimination
under the Chinese occupation, and condemn actions of the Chinese government
that continues to exploit, explore and extract the rich minerals resources of
Tibet, causing irreversible damage to the fragile eco-system on the Tibetan
plateau.
102. We note with great concern the
implementation of government policies of population transfer of millions of
Chinese settlers into Tibet and the carrying out of coercive birth control
practices against Tibetan women, which contributes to heighten discrimination
against Tibetan people.
103. The monocultural and hegemonic
practices of the Chinese government, through the school system and through
other state institutions has caused forced integration and assimilation and
deprived the Tibetan people of their human rights.
Programme of Action
TIBET
We call on all states to exert pressure
on the Chinese government to open negotiations with the Tibetan government in
exile, headed by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, in order to find a
mutually acceptable and lasting solution to the situation in Tibet.
We also call for the implementation of
the UN General Assembly resolutions on Tibet passed in 1959, 1961 and 1965,
affirming the right to self-determination of the Tibetan peoples and for the
creation of mechanisms to resolve the foreign occupation of Tibet.
We call upon all States and governments
to urge the Chinese government to begin the process of compensating the Tibetan
peoples, for the destruction of their religious sites, religion, culture and
environment over the past five decades. This process should include
compensation for the loss of Tibetan natural resources, taking the form of
timber, wildlife products, mineral resources and Tibetan artifacts.
The curtailment of religious freedom
through severe restrictions and systematic attack on their religious
institutions has resulted in the ‘religious cleansing’ of the
Tibetan peoples.
Declaration
91. We recognize the obligations of
governments to remove or amend in accordance with the International Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination all forms of legislation,
policies or practices that have the purpose or effect of discriminating against
any person on the basis of race, religion, nationality, language, caste,
ethnicity, or minority or refugee status, through the full integration of
international instruments relevant to racism into national laws, regulations
and administrative practices, and the identification and elimination at the
national and local level of institutionalized racism existing in the policies,
procedures, practices and culture of public or private criminal justice
institutions.
92. We recognize the value and importance
of the binding General Recommendations issued by CERD that CERD consider
issuing a separate General Recommendation interpreting racial discrimination as
constituting “degrading treatment” within the meaning of article 3
of European Charter of Human Rights as interpreted by the European Court of
Human Rights.
93. We recognize the need to give special
consideration to the concerns and needs of women, young people, persons of
African descent, Indigenous Peoples, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered
persons, disabled persons, the impoverished, and persons living in situations
or countries of conflict, who are affected by the criminal justice system, as
well as to the incarceration and withholding of legal rights and services to
asylum seekers and refugees.
94. We recognize the obligation to have
effective remedies, including remedies against government agencies and
officers, for victims of racial and other forms of discrimination who have been
disparately impacted upon, disproportionately targeted, prosecuted and
sentenced due to their race, nationality, ethnic background, religious beliefs
or other differences.
Programme of
Action
253. Recognize, in
accordance with international law and with the Statute of the International
Criminal Court, that the persecution of any identifiable group on political,
racial, national, ethnic caste, descent and work, cultural, religious, gender,
disability or other grounds constitutes crimes against humanity and in view of
the importance of combating impunity, sign and ratify, if they have not yet
done so, the Statute of the International Criminal Court. At
the same time, we urge all States and governments to speedily conduct at
national level, investigations and prosecutions of war crimes in compliance
with their international obligations
254. Abolish the death penalty, giving
particular consideration to the fact that throughout the world it is used
disproportionately against people belonging to racial, ethnic, national
minorities and Indigenous Peoples.
255. To ensure that persons who are
affected by racism, racist practices, xenophobia and related intolerance have
access to an effective criminal defence, which includes the explanation of
reasons for the arrest, detention, legal, proceedings and charges,
interpretation services, free of charge and at all stages of the criminal
process, and also provides access to diplomatic representatives for Foreign
nationals.
256. To ensure the eradication of
impunity within the criminal justice system, particularly law enforcement,
judicial and correctional personnel, and in the public sector, through the
establishment of internal and external independent complaints, monitoring
mechanisms and investigations, and the imposition of disciplinary and criminal
sanctions for transgressions.
257. We call upon States to ensure that
selection processes for the appointment of Judges take into account persons
previously excluded on the grounds of race, gender, ethnicity and colour,
particularly those impacted by the intersectionality of these grounds.
Selection processes should also take into account that persons appointed should
be independent of political and executive, economical or social
influence.
258. We call upon States to revise and
adopt laws and procedures regarding the manner in which the judiciary operates,
to ensure that judges act in an independent and unbiased fashion, so as to
apply the law equally, fairly and justly to all individuals and groups,
particularly those who are without any political, social or economic power, and
discriminated on grounds of racism, gender, racial discrimination, xenophobia
and related intolerance.
259. To ensure that effective mechanisms,
including data collection, are established to prevent the racial profiling of
victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance,
including a clear prohibition of reliance on race ethnicity or other group
identity, by by law enforcement, prosecutorial or judicial officers, through a
review of laws and policies, to ensure that they are not discriminatory in
purpose or impact, particularly in prisons and other places of
detention.
260. To ensure that States enact
legislation to prevent the practice of treating minors as adults within the
criminal justice system, as this affects a disproportionately large number of
persons belonging to marginalized groups, particularly in the area of
sentencing.
261. To develop policies and practices
that prohibit the use of excessive force by law enforcement officers, provide
increased sanctions for use of excessive force motivated by racial or other
discrimination, and to require special training programs on non-lethal and
proportionate levels of force and alternatives to the use of force for law
enforcement officers.
262. To ensure strict and regular
monitoring, inspection and control mechanisms in all places of detention,
including private and alternative prisons, concrete and immediate steps to end
the exploitation of the labour of incarcerated people, full access to
incarcerated poputlations to educational programmes and facilities and timely
and appropriate preventative, diagnostic and curative physical and mental
health services, and programs which focus specifically on the reintegration of
offenders into their communities after their release from prison.
263. Require that all states ensure that
Public officials, criminal justice and law enforcement agencies act in a
non-discriminatory manner and that specific training programs on anti-racist,
anti-xenophobic and gender sensitive practices are designed for such officials
and agencies. Such officials and agencies should be required to publicly
disavow hate speech, and conduct that foments acts of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
264. To ensure, that States comply with
article 10 of the UN Convention against Torture (CAT), by ensuring that
educational measures explicitly address the implications of the fourth purpose
contained in the definition of torture (“discrimination of any
kind”) found in article 1 of the Convention, thus helping to prevent
torture, ill-treatment and any kind of violence against disproportionately
targeted groups and individuals.
265. To ensure that asylum seekers are
not subjected to criminal or other punishment on the basis of any illegal entry
or presence, that detention of asylum seekers is used only as a measure of last
resort (except that unaccompanied minors should not be detained in any
circumstances), subject to periodic judicial review, with a maximum duration
specified in national law, with guarantee for the right of appeal against this
detention, and with strict and regular inspection by independent bodies. If
detained, asylum seekers should be held in special immigration detention
centres, in conditions appropriate to their status and in accordance with
international standards, and not with perons charged with or convicted of
criminal offences.
266. To ensure that special attention is
given to the rights of refugees and asylum seekers to adequate and effective
representation and prompt judicial proceedings, and that groups, including non
citizens such as documented or undocumented migrants, asylum seekers and
refugees, are provided necessary information and legal assistance in the event
of torture, ill treatment or any kind of violence, perpetrated on the basis of
race, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
Declaration
104. Persons with disabilities are
vulnerable or affected by multiple and intersectional discrimination based on
race, ethnic origin, gender, age and other grounds and are victims of
governmental and societal neglect.
105. A growing number of persons with
disabilities are also victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance, especially in situations of conflict and when victimised
by religious persecution and other forms of intolerance.
106. In particular, persons with
disabilities experience grave discrimination in having access to health,
education, employment, sports, accommodation as well as access to public
transport and buildings, and access to language, in situations when sign
language and other forms of communication are not available, especially with
regard to their reproductive rights and access to health education.
107. Exclusion and non-consideration of
disability in the allocation of resources in particular basic essentials,
assistive devices and other basic technology and communication devices is
another key form of discrimination against persons with
disabilities.
Programme of
Action
278. We urge upon States to ensure
specific programs of optimal rehabilitation including access to assisted
devices and technology, education, recognition of informal skills, job
integration without discrimination and equitable remuneration.
279. We call upon States to address the
stigmatization of disability through a wide range of strategies promoting
disability awareness and the rights of Persons with Disabilities to equitable
access to, and equitable share of national resources
280. We call upon States to develop
relevant protocols to ensure representation and participation of Persons with
Disabilities in the decision making process of states and communities at all
levels.
281. We call upon states to examine the
intersection of race and disability in order to develop and implement
strategies aimed at the elimination of disability based discrimination. Design,
with full participation of Persons with Disabilities, and implement and monitor
all anti-racist policies as disability sensitive.
282. We urge the United Nations and
States members to acknowledge and redress the situation of discrimination and
stigmatization of Persons with Disabilities throughout the human
history.
283. We urge them to implement
legislation, programs and services aiming their full enjoyment of human rights
with no distinction based on type of disability, color, race, gender, age,
national or ethnic origin, religion, language, culture, caste, socio-economic
status or any other status, property.
284. Create the necessary conditions in
order to generate the establishment of regional and International Networks on
Disability in order to monitor the situation of Persons with Disabilities
around the world and to exchange information on these issues.
285. We call upon States at the national
and international levels to ensure that Persons with Disabilities are provided
equitable opportunities to participate in all aspects of events such as WCAR,
NGO forums, etc, including in the roles of speakers, rapporteurs, resource
persons as well as in cultural events.
286. We further call upon states at the
national and international level to ensure that such events are held in venues
which have full disability access.
287. We call upon all NGOs to, over the
next year, conduct a comprehensive analysis of their existing programs for
physical and programmatic access for people with disabilities and to make
appropriate changes to eliminate barriers.
Declaration
108. Education is critically important in
combating and preventing prejudice as well as the protection of individual
human rights and specifically with regard to Indigenous Peoples, Dalits and
minority and vulnerable groups and further recalling that many State parties
have not yet implemented ICERD article 7.
109. Bearing in mind that education is a
primary function of understanding human rights and freedoms, we deplore the
fact that some educational systems are used as tools for advancing racist,
sexist, casteist and supremacists ideologies and in doing so employ texts,
documents and other tools of learning that convey pejorative images through
omission of facts of past and present realities of Africans, Indigenous
Peoples, Asians, Dalits, and their descendants and members of other minority
and marginalized communities.
110. Considering that schools and other
centers of learning play a critical role in shaping future generations, we
recognise that current efforts in schools and other centers of learning to
combat racism, including challenging racist and sexist language, pejorative
images are woefully inadequate.
111. We also note with concern the lack
of school curricula that meets international standards, recognizing the value
of having a school curricula that is devoid of discriminatory content and that
teaches the principles of equality, dignity, human rights and fundamental
freedoms, adopting a holistic approach that includes a balance between a
science and technology-based approach and an indigenous knowledge and
philosophy based approach.
112. We recognize the historical,
financial and other institutional barriers faced by Africans, Indigenous
Peoples, Asians and their descendants and members of other minority and
marginalized communities when they seek to access institutions of higher
learning and particularly women and girls of disadvantaged and vulnerable
communities.
Programme of
Action
Education as a means of redress should be
viewed from the broad perspective of encompassing as a comprehensive
strategy:
· Formal Education;
· Non Formal education
· Adult Education;
· Awareness Campaigns;
· Information dissemination (access
to information);
· Education for the transformation
of Public Sector Officials; and
· The Media and information
technology.
FORMAL AND NON-FORMAL EDUCATION
INCLUDING ADULT EDUCATION
288. Implement the U.N. Decade for Human
Rights Education 1995-2004, and support its continuation for a further Decade
with increased human and financial resources.
289. Ensure equal access to education at
all levels, including higher education, without discrimination on any ground,
for all persons irrespective of their legal status and abolish policies and
practices promoting or leading to racial segregation in education.
290. Include human rights education and
human values as a dimension in the national curricula for primary and secondary
schools aiming for all pupils to have an awareness and understanding of their
rights and responsibilities. Include in national curricula for primary and
secondary school a human rights education with an emphasis on universal values
aimed at ensuring that learners have an awareness their rights and
responsibilities under domestic constitutions, the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international
human rights instruments.
291. Review the education curriculum with
the purpose of eliminating any elements that might promote racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance or reinforce negative
stereotypes. Efforts must also be made for the systematic collection of data,
for planning and evaluation, on educational quality and achievement. Further,
we encourage a holistic approach that includes a balance between a science and
technology based approach and an indigenous knowledge and philosophy based
approach.
292. Ensure that education syllabi
incorporate an accurate history of the struggle of the people against
colonialism, genocide, slavery, apartheid, imperialism and patriarchal
ideologies and caste-based practices which have entrenched racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. In addition, ensure that
education curricula highlight the vital contributions of different cultures and
groups, such as Africans and African descendants, Indigenous peoples, migrants
and other ethnic, racial, cultural, religious and linguistic groups have played
in building national identities.
293. Review and develop the educational
system to allow for learning and instruction to be pursued in mother-tongue
language(s), and to ensure that access to education is not denied to vulnerable
groups on the basis of linguistic ability and criteria. In addition, to provide
affirmative educational support from marginalized groups, through such measures
as extra-tutorial, pre-school education, stipends for books and supplies,
scholarships for vocational professional and higher education and employment
guidance and assistance.
294. Educational policies be pursued that
includes cultural, racial and sexual diversity and that recovers the historical
contribution of women in the development of their peoples, communities and
nations.
295. To provide to all peoples and
cultures in educational centres, access to technology in equal conditions,
especially in areas that have no access to higher education, for an equitable
and sustainable development and the eradication of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
296. Take measures to increase the
recruitment and promotion of members of minority groups as teachers, trainers
and care providers and guarantee effective equality of access to the teaching
profession. Additionally, ensure that pupils, parents and teachers are given
information and training on Human Rights and are trained to deal with racist
incidents in schools with a full awareness of the remedies that are
available.
297. Encourage businesses and
multi-national corporations to promote understanding and acceptance within
their workplace through educational programs on the values of cultural
diversity, cross-cultural communication and non-discrimination, as well as
skills development for disadvantaged groups.
298. Promote adult education for the
public at large, addressing the question of functional illiteracy in minority
languages.
299. Efforts must be made for the
systematic collection of data for planning and evaluation, disaggregated by
race on educational quality and achievement.
300. Comply and take action on the
commitment of States to the Dakar and Jomtien Declaration.
PUBLIC AWARENESS AND ACCESS TO
INFORMATION
States and governments should:
301. Commit themselves to undertaking
public information to alert their societies to the dangers of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance, and to support initiatives
of non-governmental organisations in this respect.
302. Set up or facilitate the provision
of free access to sources of information on the rights and remedies of victims
of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, including
all forms of religious intolerance.
303. Organise and support networks of
information in the combat against racism and related intolerance at local,
national and regional level, and facilitate the key role of NGO's in
combating racism and related intolerance, acknowledging their significant role
in disseminating information and establishing networks among target
groups.
304. Establish and resource an
independent body or bodies, which is tasked to:
· Study the historical and emerging
causes of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
its effects and suitable remedies;
· Focus on combating all ideologies,
policies and practices which lead to or incite racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance;
· Undertake and facilitate awareness
raising campaigns informing all levels of society about racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
· Integrate, co-operate, encourage
and support civil society bodies and NGO's in their work in the eradication
of racism, racial discrimination and related intolerance.
TRAINING AND EDUCATION FOR PUBLIC
OFFICIALS
States and governments should:
305. Conduct nationwide campaigns to
raise awareness among State organs, such as the judiciary, and law enforcement
agencies, public officials, including legislators, as well as civil society
organisations, including associations involved with migrants and other
vulnerable groups, concerning the provisions of the International Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
306. Train police and immigration
officials in the application of international human rights standards and that
the successful completion of such training programmes be made one of the
criteria for promotion.
307. Implement training programmes on the
dangers of racism and intolerance, including sexist prejudices, disability
discrimination stereotyping and multiple discrimination and promote respect for
cultural diversity by officials in all spheres of public life, in particular
the police and the military, the judiciary and other agents of the
administration of justice, teachers and other educationalists, and officials
working in the sphere of health and social welfare.
308. Develop specific measures for agents
of the criminal justice system, in particular the police and other law
enforcement officers, for their interactions with target groups and
minorities.
309. Governments and states should
promote research addressing the roots and manifestations of all forms of
contemporary racism, including those not rooted in slavery, and to introduce
educational programmes for both civil servants and the general public based on
the principle of priority of human rights and multiculturalism.
Declaration:
117. Environmental racism is a human
rights violation and is a form of discrimination caused by government and
private sector policy, practice, action or inaction which intentionally or
unintentionally, disproportionately targets and harms the environment, health,
biodiversity, local economy, quality of life and security of communities,
workers, groups, and individuals based on race, class, color, gender, caste,
ethnicity and/or national origin.
118. We condemn the abuse of all forms of
power, greed, and exclusion of victims of environmental racism from
decision-making, unequal enforcement, non-existent or ineffective environmental
laws and regulations, manipulation of media and language barriers to perpetuate
and conceal the environmental harms to human health, displacement of people,
depletion of natural resources, and the degradation of biodiversity all of
which are manifestations of environmental racism targeting Indigenous Peoples,
Africans and African descendants, Asians and Asian descendants, Middle Eastern
Peoples, Pacific Islanders, Latinos, Caribbean Peoples, ethnic and national
minorities and groups, and other social groups most vulnerable to practices of
unsustainable development and militarization, especially children, women, the
elderly, displaced, immuno-suppressed, as well as low and no income
people.
Programme of
Action
310. To promote sustainable development,
governments must develop, improve, and apply economic, health, and social
indicators to assess the quality of life for people impacted by environmental
racism, implement a just transition to clean, affordable and sustainable modes
of production, and pollution prevention, develop, apply, and transfer to all
States information and technologies that can reduce and eliminate environmental
health hazards and enable the thorough remediation of contaminated sites,
ensure medical services to persons suffering from toxic exposure, develop laws
which prohibit transboundary, especially from industrialized to
non-industrialized countries, and intra-border deposition of toxics and
polluting technologies, which degrade the environment and harm human health,
urge UN agencies, international and regional financial mechanisms, and donor
countries to reform their loan and grant-making practices and provide the
resources that enable all States to develop, improve, and implement the laws,
policies, and practices as called for by this program of action.
311. Governments must establish, comply
with, and enforce international conventions, treaties, declarations, national
laws, and policies that ensure the fundamental rights of all people to clean
air, land, water, food and safe and decent housing. Such legal instruments and
policies must provide protection for urban and rural communities, workers,
especially agricultural laborers, from environmental hazards that
disproportionately impact people who have historically been subjected to
discrimination based on race, class, color, gender, caste, ethnicity and/or
national origin, ensure the right of all people to meaningful participation in
decision-making on environmental and health issues, including culturally and
linguistically appropriate outreach and education as well as guarantee fair
access to judicial and administrative proceedings and remedies for
environmental racism, and establish legally binding instruments and mechanisms
to hold states and corporations accountable to international and domestica laws
protecting human rights.
312. Governments must ensure that all
governmental policies and practices adhere to the principles of precautionary
approach and polluter-pays as provided in the Rio Declaration on Environment
and Development. Develop and implement programs of sustainable development with
the involvement of those affected by environmental racism and other non-state
actors in order to redress and improve health, environmental, and economic
conditions. Establish programs to protect people from environmental racism
caused by military, governmental, and industrial activities. Such programs must
include protection from dangerous health threats, remediation of environmental
degradation caused by the military, governments, and industry, as well as the
disposal of toxic stockpiles that meets 100% efficiency. Reform economic
development policies with mechanisms for prioritizing health, social, cultural,
and religious/spiritual values.
313. As full partners in the eradication
of environmental racism and quest for sustainable development, the NGO Forum
calls upon NGOs to: foster meaningful national and international participation
in public and private decision-making affecting local communities and their
environments; study the effects of environmental racism on our communities;
identify and publicize the effects of environmental racism on workers and
communities; educate civil society on the impacts of environmental racism;
advocate for public and private sector policies and laws that protect natural
resources, eliminate contamination affecting communities, and restore
contaminated environments; provide victims of environmental racism with legal
advisory assistance to access justice and attain fair compensation; and develop
regional environmental justice networks to share information, strategies,
lessons learned, engage in mutual solidarity actions, and monitor the
compliance and enforcement of the obligations of industry, governments, and
intergovernmental agencies to make possible equitable and sustainable
development. The NGO Forum calls on governments, intergovernmental agencies, UN
agencies and other financial mechanisms, and philanthropic organizations to
provide the financing and technical assistance necessary to enable NGOs to
carry out this action plan.
Declaration
113. Members of many national, ethnic,
religious, cultural and linguistic groups including on the basis of their being
considered a minority are subjected, collectively and individually, to all
forms of racism including denial of citizenship, exclusion from political
participation, social and economic resources of the state, as well as genocide
practices. We acknowledge that internal passport and residence permit system
represent a policy leading to discrimination and expulsion of ethnic minorities
and groups in many regions, in particular, in countries in transition. The ways
in which nation- or ethnic-state structures strengthen majority rule is a main
factor in such exclusion.
114. The enjoyment of rights based on
principles of human dignity and liberty has been a historical challenge,
particularly for people who became national minorities in their homeland
through processes of colonization and dispossession of their land. These
processes have led to the denial of the right of minorities and groups to
sovereignty and self-determination and have placed limitations on the right of
women to transmit their nationality to their children, on an equal basis with
men.
115. We assert that minorities and groups
are entitled to affirm their right to self determination which includes, inter
alia, the recognition of their history, national memory, historical land
claims, language rights, cultural rights, religious rights as well as the right
to share political power.
116. Affirmative action, through the use
of temporary measures is a method of redressing historical injustices and has
often been used to advance the cause of minority communities. Regrettably,
however, it has sometimes been used by states to promote majoritarian
ethno-nationalism, as in Malaysia and in Sri Lanka.
Programme of
Action
314. We urge States to fully recognize
all fundamental human rights for members of ethnic and national groups, and
especially full equal citizenship for them in all fields of public life. States
should repeal legislation that facilitates discrimination against ethnic and
racial minorities and prevents them from enjoying their identity, culture,
religion and language or renders members of minority communities
stateless.
315. We recommend that governments and
international organizations take urgent action to eradicate the widespread
discrimination and persecution of ethnic and national groups, by implementing
national public and social policies to redress discrimination, including
affirmative action programmes. In particular, States should set up systems of
government and administration that allow ethnic and national groups to
participate in decision-making and implementation. States engaged in
post-conflict transition should adopt systems of power sharing, based, wherever
possible, on parties rather than ethnicity.
316. We urge states to enact legislation,
including constitutional protection, in order to ensure cultural rights for
all, and to protect and promote cultural diversity on their territory. We
recommend that governments develop intercultural educational provisions and
curricula that are culturally and linguistically appropriate. These should
ensure that all groups and individuals have an understanding of their
multicultural society, and that they share common values in the public domain,
which evolves through democratic participation. States should support and
encourage organizations that promote minority cultures and languages, and
promote cultural exchanges and understandings between different
communities.
317. Where an ethnic or national groups
is geographically concentrated, states should establish territorial autonomy to
provide for self-government, where and when the ethnic or national group desire
it. The rights of other minorities, especially smaller groups within these
areas, should also be protected, and individual rights always
respected.
318. The state has an obligation to
provide human security for all persons and must desist from using its security
and military apparatus to manipulate and create divisions amongst minority
communities. States must take immediate steps to reduce their military budgets
and channel these resources into the establishment of country-wide
multi-cultural education and media programmes and the promotion and protection
of minority rights.
319. We urge States to ensure that
national human rights mechanisms independently and effectively monitor the
impact of development projects and programmes on ethnic and national groups,
while ensuring their conformity with international human rights standards.
These mechanisms should ensure the full participation of the affected
communities and of civil society in the monitoring process. Governments should
adopt land tenure and land use policies and regulations that are in conformity
with international standards on traditional land and territorial rights for
ethnic and national groups. The land rights of pastoral, nomadic and forest
peoples must be recognised and enshrined in law.
320. We recommend that governments, and
multilateral and bilateral development agencies ensure the right of ethnic and
national groups to participate in the formulation, implementation and
evaluation of country strategies, development plans and programmes that affect
them. This participation must be comprehensive and transparent through all
stages of the project cycle. The nature of participation should be consistent
with the traditional decision-making processes of ethnic and national groups,
if they so request. Equal consideration should be given to, inter alia, women,
older people, persons with disabilities, children and those living with HIV and
AIDS within ethnic and national groups, allowing them to express their own
perception of rights and development needs.
321. We call for the development of a
binding international convention on persons belonging to national or ethnic,
religious and linguistic minorities, based on the UN Declaration on the rights
of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic
minorities.
322. We call for the creation of an
international judicial mechanism whose mandate will be to intervene in cases of
widespread human rights abuses especially concerning the rights for life and
security of the members of of ethnic or national groups.
323. We call for the establishment of
regional systems for the protection of ethnic and national groups where they do
not currently exist.
324. We call on States to set up
institutions, such as minority ombudspersons, to ensure fair treatment for
ethnic and national groupsand the promotion of ethnic and national
participation in political, economical, social and cultural life as well as in
any fields of public life.
325. The Palestinian Citizens of Israel
should be recognized as a distinct national minority group based on Article 27
of the ICCPR. We call for the implementation of the recommendations and
concluding comments regarding Israel issued by UN Human Rights treaty or
Charter based bodies such as the CESCR, the Human Rights Committee and the
Commission on human rights, which emphasized the Palestinian citizens’
collective rights regarding lands, absentee property, uprooted villages and the
unrecognized villages.
326. We express deep concern at the
systematic and institutionalized discriminatory policies practiced against the
Kurdish people. We condemn the crimes committed against the Kurdish people,
such as genocide, ethnic cleansing, denial of their cultural and linguistic
rights, mass disappearances, destruction of villages and towns. In order to
ensure Kurdish people’s rights for freedom, dignity and self
determination we call upon the international community and the concerned states
to end these policies, render justice, decide on reparations for the victims
and develop effective monitoring mechanisms. We demand that the right of the
Kurdish people to statehood be recognized
327. We express our concern for the
Uyghur people of East Turkistan and recommend that the UN establish a Working
Group to investigate the serious allegations of mass executions, torture and
disappearance of Uyghur political and religious prisoners.
Declaration
119. An intersectional approach to
discrimination acknowledges that every person be it man or woman exists in a
framework of multiple identities, with factors such as race, class, ethnicity,
religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, citizenship,
national identity, geo-political context, health, including HIV/AIDS status and
any other status are all determinants in one’s experiences of racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerances. An intersectional
approach highlights the way in which there is a simultaneous interaction of
discrimination as a result of multiple identities.
Programme of
Action
328. All parties to armed conflict are
requested to abide by the rule laid down in the Rome Statute, and that States
and the international community should commit to combat all forms of racial
discrimination and violations of women’s human rights especially during
periods of armed conflict.
329. States are urged to conduct
impartial and independent investigations and prosecutions of in relation to
rape or other forms of gendered crimes during conflict.
330. Expose and document rape as a war
crime; undertake research and information gathering as an instrument of the
early warning system.
331. Education curriculum and armed
forces (police) training to include: human rights training, the culture of
peace and gender sensitivity.
332. Teaching materials to remove
stereotypes and historical biases, and strengthen the teaching of the history
of national and ethnic minorities, human migration, colonialism and
women’s human rights. Issues for women with disabilities should be
included in public education to eliminate disability discrimination.
333. Promote programs which provide legal
services to women and provide women with education on human rights.
334. States to prevent and stop
violations of human rights violations against documented and undocumented
migrants and migrant workers, including gender-based violence and human rights
violations committed against women migrants and migrant workers.
335. Urge states, multinational
corporations, international financial institutions and companies to prevent and
eliminate racially discriminatory policies and practices, recognising the
gender-differentiated experiences of women and girls in access to employment.
Women with disabilities to be provided with appropriate health care services
and respect while accessing reproductive health services.
336. Partial interpretation of
traditional, social and cultural beliefs and the misuse of religious and
traditional beliefs is the cause of racism, racial discrimination and related
intolerance.
337. States to promote and protect the
health rights of women and girls, and provide access to adequate maternal and
reproductive health services, particularly women with disabilities.
Declaration
120. Globalisation including structural
adjustment policies, privatisation, trade liberalisation and unequal terms of
trade create new and exacerbate already existing conditions of exclusion of all
individuals and communities, particularly women, who are the victims of racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
121. We denounce processes of
globalisation that concentrate power in the hands of powerful Western nations
and multinational corporations, and that has an impact on every aspect of
social life in every country and region, as racist and unjust. It widens
economic inequalities within and between countries, further impoverishing and
marginalizing masses of peoples, and places them at risk to the demand for
cheap and informal labour in labour-importing countries. Tools of globalisation
such as structural adjustment policies result in poverty, famine and the
collapse of health and educational systems. Globalisation leads to economic and
social disintegration, unemployment and marginalisation. It particularly
implies both feminisation and racialisation of poverty. Compensatory measures
must be extended in this context.
122. The processes of social exclusion
that accompany globalisation create situations of polarisation that result in
the disintegration of local communities and countries, sometimes leading to an
increase in organised crime and ethnic conflicts.
123. Globalisation is the continuation of
colonial and imperial control. It is inherently racist and anti-democratic, and
creates a network of laws and policies that unevenly integrate the world
through markets, trade, transnational corporations and information and
communication technology.
124. The wealth and the power of
globalisation is concentrated in the global capitalist class and is inherently
linked to racism and casteism, including environmental racism, and leading to
many different forms of violence, militarisation and nuclearisation of
countries and cities. The UN itself is shaped by the same powers that control
the process of globalisation.
125. New commodities, information and
communication technologies that are apart ofglobalisation process increase the
gap among "have" and "have nots", creating a free market
for capitals and goods but restricting the movement of labour.
Programme of Action
338. We call upon the States to recognise
that the exploitation of young peoples labour, particularly those from
indigenous and ethnic minorities and immigrant groups is exacerbated by TNCs We
urge States to protect their citizens by regulating these practices.
339. We insist that a code of conduct be
developed and implemented to recognise the value of the contribution made by
young people and to ensure the protection of their security and
livelihood.
340. We note with concern the punitive
reaction of many governments to the growing expression of community disquiet as
to the discriminatory effects of globalisation and urge them instead to support
a democratic and anti-racist globality. We urge States to ensure that their
decision making processes in relation to these issues both take into account
and are accountable to the communities that they represent.
341. We urge governments to take whatever
steps are appropriate to ensure that the ownership of knowledge including
territory medicines, biodiversity and culture by indigenous peoples is
officially recognised. We call upon States to enforce and protect the
intellectual property rights of indigenous peoples, especially where the
appropriation of this knowledge and violation of these rights is an economic
benefit to private organisations.
342. We urge States to recognise the
racial dimension inherent in the unequal distribution of resources through the
process of globalisation. The racial aspect of globalisation is experienced at
international, national and local levels and requires organised preventative
strategies at each of these levels.
343. We call upon the governments of the
North to reinforce the means of financial aid to southern countries to devote a
proper part of the aid to minority communities for their specific structural
development and needs such as education, training, helath care and
housing.
344. Support "humanitarian
business" calling for the presence of trained persons in governmental and
international institutions to enhance "corporate social
responsibility".
Declaration:
126. Members of marginalized and minority
communities are targeted for hate crimes including burning of places of worship
and religious symbols, sexual violence, desecration of places of worship,
cemeteries and other sacred places. Violence against the leaders of such
communities is of particular concern.
127. Hate crimes target individuals
because of their identity and decimate lives and communities, stigmatizing
individuals and communities, robbing people of personal security, promoting
fear, constraining lifestyles and participation in all aspects of society,
causing psychological and physical harm, repressing and silencing demands for
justice and self-determination, undermining peace and democracy, and
reinforcing racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
Women are particularly vulnerable to some forms of hate crimes, especially
sexual violence.
128. Many peoples and members of
marginalized and minority communities are subjected to hate crimes and/or
ethnic cleansing as they attempt to exercise their right to self-determination,
including the Kurdish, Chechen, Tibetan, Acehnese and West Papuan people, and
Indigenous Peoples.
129. Hate crimes, ethnic cleansing and
genocide include violence and murder, rape and other sexual violence, racist
propaganda, incitements to violence, race riots, massacres, disappearances of
members of communities advocating for social change and self determination and
is perpetuated by organized hate groups, military, police, religious entities,
governments, and individuals.
130. Ideological genocide has been
committed against people in Indonesia in 1965-1966 resulting in the death,
disappearance and torture of over 1 million suspected communists. None of the
perpetrators or masterminds of this crime against humanity have been brought to
justice. As a result, the xenophobic suppression of those expressing left-wing
ideology continues to this day in Indonesia.
Programme of
Action
345. We urge states to extradite those
guilty of hate crimes to face prosecution where appropriate, regardless of
nationality.
346. Develop policies and practices which
encourage international protection for those suffering from these heinous hate
crimes. Monitor and provide effective measures to ensure implementation of
human rights laws and UN conventions against hate crimes including sexual
violence and promote policies and practices that delegitimize racist hate
propaganda and hate groups.
347. Encourage identification of the new
issues within the UN, including to establish a commission and rapporteur desk
to inquire into the issues raised here such as ethnic cleansing, ethnic
conflicts, ideological and cultural Daliticide, hate crimes, and establish
offices in different areas of the world.
348. Consider more powerful means (such
as embargoes, economic sanctions) of dealing with recalcitrant states that
continue to perpetrate hate crimes, ethnic cleansing and genocide, and promote
and require protection for those involved in religious organizations operating
in any oppressive conditions
349. Encourage the UN to set up and fully
fund a body to deal with propaganda and media distortion related to racism and
racial discrimination, hate crimes, systematic ethnic cleansing, and genocide.
Also require that education and training about discrimination, hate crimes,
ethnic cleansing and genocide is provided by governments and the UN to enable
the liberation of oppressed people and to increase understanding of these
heinous crimes in the international community, including requiring offices in
the regions outside Geneva and New York. Require the UN to monitor and agitate
for this.
350. NGOs should agitate for national
legislation to combat hate crimes and violence and punish the perpetrators of
such acts as well as push for a serious UN response to hate crimes.
351. All political parties must promote
inclusive policies and prohibit the use of negative images of race, ethnicity,
religion, language and caste.
352. It is important to monitor education
to ensure it is inclusive and prevents perpetuation of discrimination and hate
crimes and also to monitor media for accusations, generalisations,
stigmatization, stereotyping and bias of particular racial and ethnic
minorities, indigenous peoples, castes, especially women, children, those with
disabilities, religious minorities and communities advocating for social change
and self determination other groups being targeted by hate crimes
353. NGOs must form a coalition with
others suffering from discrimination to fight hate crimes against members their
own communities. It is important to get assistance, gain knowledge and get
advice from those in other countries who have already formed such
coalitions.
Declaration
131. Disadvantaged racial, ethnic and
cultural vulnerable groups, Indigenous Peoples, migrants, people discriminated
against based on caste, asylum seekers, refugees and internally displaced
people, especially women, youth, children and people with disabilities face
multiple forms of discrimination that result in poor health status, less access
to affordable and good health care and lower quality of health services. In
particular this has contributed to high rate of maternal mortality amongst
women of these groups.
132. We condemn the failure of
governments, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector to respond
aggressively to the AIDS pandemic which is exacerbated by international racism
and reinforced by poverty, discrimination against women and poor health
services.
133. Gender, sexual orientation, gender
identity and disabilities in conjunction with race are often the basis for
denial of access to quality, comprehensive, sensible cultural health care,
including access to sexual and reproductive heath services.
134. We condemn the unscrupulous
practices of the tobacco, alcohol, drug and gun industries in their targeting
of disadvantaged communities, particularly the promoting and encouraging of
smoking in developing countries.
135. Governments, non-governmental
organizations, the private sector and the international community should ensure
that health care providers/practitioners are trained to provide culturally
appropriate care; and that members of African and African Descendant
communities, indigenous communities and other vulnerable groups are adequately
represented as health care providers. In order to assure cultural appropriate
care, governments must permit and promote traditional health practices in
coordination with traditional healers.
136. Governments and the international
community should assure that the health care system is adequately funded,
sustainable and effectively monitored; that the sources of funding for health
care comes not only from the national government but also from the
international community including cancellation of illegitimate debt and
decreased military spending.
137. Lack of routine and systematic
research on disparities in physical and mental health and inadequate collection
of data on the basis of race, gender and socio-economic factors related to
health status and health care of vulnerable groups and access to quality health
care heighten difficulties in addressing the experiences of racism, social
exclusion, and other forms of discrimination in health.
138. We deplore the attitudes and
practices of certain international pharmaceutical companies as well as the
indifference on the part of the international community that are contributing
to the additional prevalence of this genocidal virus, particularly in so far as
it affects the African continent and other countries in the developing world
exacerbated by conditions of poverty and inequality.
139. Women are at higher risk for HIV
infection because of the epidemic of sexual violence against them. Combating
HIV/AIDS requires, among other things, that States eliminate legal and
practical discrimination against women and girls and prevent, investigate, and
punish acts of violence and discrimination against women.
Programme of
Action
354. Governments of the developed
countries should assure that state of the art medical and health related
technology and knowledge is made accessible to developing countries and
implement measures to fulfill the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the
highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. All governments
should provide effective mechanisms to eliminate discrimination in their health
care systems and establish effective means of monitoring these
systems.
355. Governments should promote and
develop prevention and treatment programs for diseases and conditions that
disproportionately affect vulnerable groups such as sickle cell anemia,
diabetes, hypertension and other chronic diseases. These programs should be
developed in conjunction with the private sector (particularly the medical
technology and pharmaceutical industry) and should pay special attention to
diseases and illnesses in developing countries and eliminate racism and other
forms of discrimination in their health care systems. [sentence on racism of
international pharmaceutical industry]
356. Governments, nongovernmental
organizations, the private sector and the international community, including
the World Health Organization, should routinely and systematically collect
race, gender and socioeconomic class data related to health status and health
care such data should not be limited to census and vital statistics but should
include data on access and quality particularly service delivery, diagnosis and
treatment, facility availability, provider availability and other related
health activities and services. Special attention should be placed on the
impact of racial discrimination and to the publication of the data, the results
and the conclusion.
357. The Governments of the richest
countries of the world should contribute at least $10 billion annually to the
UN Global Health Fund to develop and implement comprehensive programs of
prevention, treatment and community support to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis,
malaria and other infectious disease.
358. In order to effectively address
HIV/AIDS, governments must implement a comprehensive, multi-sectoral program
consisting of the mutually reinforcing components of prevention, treatment,
care, community support and health infrastructure, including culturally
sensitive educational programs and specific programs aimed at reducing the
vulnerability of women to HIV infection which include encouraging citizens to
engage in voluntary testing, and giving special attention to developing
countries and vulnerable groups.
359. Governments must direct efforts to
eradicate rape and all forms of sexual violence against women. Combating
HIV/AIDS requires among other things that States eliminate legal and practical
discrimination against women and girls and prevent, investigate and punish acts
of violence and discrimination against women. In addition, in coordination with
women’s rights and human rights groups, and other relevant members of
civil society, states should design, fund and implement programmes targeted at
increasing women’s awareness of HIV/AIDS.
360. To ensure that young people have
input in all decisions about their own health, specifically about their sexual
and reproductive health, and to provide free health care services to those
young people from marginalized groups.
361. Governments should provide
comprehensive HIV/AIDS Mother-to-child Transmission Programs that are freely
accessible to all. Such programs should involve informed consent, pre and post
– test counseling, treatment options, milk formula substitution, and
access to support groups.
362. Governments should set up mechanisms
that assure the protection of vulnerable groups who participate in research .
Those mechanisms should include free and informed consent but must also include
other forms that protect vulnerable groups from exploitation
Declaration:
140. Indigenous Peoples live in every
region of the world, including the Arctic, Africa, Russia, the Americas,
Europe, Asia, Australia and the Pacific amongst other areas, and everywhere
they suffer gross discrimination and marginalization. The belief in the
inferiority of Indigenous Peoples, in addition to the lack of consultation on
matters that effect them, remains deeply embedded in the legal, economic and
social fabric of many States and has resulted in the dispossession and
destruction of Indigenous territories and resources, political, religious and
social systems.
141. Indigenous Peoples continue to
suffer the loss of their territories and resources, the destruction of their
cultures, and violence directed at their peoples. Indigenous women and
children, in particular, endure multiple forms of discrimination. This
dispossession, violence and discrimination constitute flagrant violations of
our human rights in contravention of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights.
142. Indigenous Peoples are peoples
within the full meaning of international law. Indigenous Peoples have the right
to self-determination by virtue of which they freely determine their economic,
social, political and cultural development and the inherent right to possession
of all of their traditional and ancestral lands and territories. The knowledge
and cultures of Indigenous Peoples cannot be separated from their unique
spiritual and physical relationships with their lands, waters, resources and
territories. The denial or qualification of the self-determination of
Indigenous Peoples is racist and lies at the root of Indigenous suffering.
Structural racism in past and current manifestations of colonialism, invasion,
apartheid, ethnocide and genocide has denied, and continues to deny Indigenous
Peoples their fundamental right to self-determination.
143. Racism against Indigenous Peoples
manifests itself in discriminatory laws and policies that perpetuate and
exacerbate racism against Indigenous Peoples. These laws and policies include
the denial of the status of Indigenous Peoples with the right to self
determination under international law, the militarization of indigenous lands
and territories, doctrines that allow Indigenous territories to be taken
without due process of law or adequate compensation, the unilateral
extinguishment of indigenous land rights, the doctrine of plenary power,
discrimination against Indigenous Peoples in the civil and criminal justice
systems of States, failure to recognise the justice systems of Indigenous
Peoples, the lack of equal participation of Indigenous Peoples in
decision-making processes in matters that may affect their cultural, spiritual
or physical integrity, the lack of respect for treaties, agreements and laws
between Indigenous Peoples and States with no legal resource for Indigenous
Peoples, the denial of protection of the religious freedom for Indigenous
prisoners, the disproportionate incarceration of Indigenous Peoples, policies
that deny, suppress or destroy Indigenous languages, and the presumption that
Indigenous Peoples do not own subsoil resources under their lands.
144. Racism against Indigenous Peoples
also manifests itself in many forms, including: forced and covert displacement;
forced assimilation; forced removal of indigenous children from their
communities; economic policies which exploit Indigenous resources without
Indigenous consent and without returning any benefit to Indigenous communities;
the use of sexual violence against Indigenous women as a weapon of war;
misinformation and lack of reproductive information, imposition of dangerous
contraceptives on Indigenous girls and women, and forced sterilisation of
Indigenous girls and women; the appropriation of Indigenous intellectual and
cultural property, including genetic property , and the use of the images of
Indigenous peoples and individuals without their consent.
145. Religious Intolerance towards
Indigenous spiritual practices and the profaning of indigenous sacred sites and
objects has been a fundamental instrument in the subjugation of Indigenous
Peoples since the invasion and the beginning of colonialism, and is a
persistent evil that States must take action to end.
146. Environmental racism -- an
historical form of racial discrimination -- has led to and continues to lead to
the ruination of indigenous lands, waters and environments by the
implementation of unsustainable schemes, such as mining, biopiracy,
deforestation, the dumping of contaminated waste, oil and gas drilling and
other land use practices that do not respect indigenous ceremonies, spiritual
beliefs, traditional medicines and life ways, the biodiversity of indigenous
lands, indigenous economies and means of subsistence, and the right to
health.
Programme of Action
363. Strongly recommend the adoption of
the draft U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples approved by the
Subcommission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities
in its Resolution 1994/45. The draft O.A.S. Inter-American Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples should be pursued and adopted with the full and
equal participation of Indigenous peoples, and must not contemplate lesser
rights than those contained in the U.N. Declaration. States must recognize the
collective rights of indigenous peoples.
364. Recommends the ratification by
States of international conventions and agreements protective of Indigenous
rights, and we exhort those States that have not already ratified the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the
Genocide Convention and ILO Convention 169 to do so. States ratifying ILO
Convention 169 should, in consultation with Indigenous Peoples, seek to revise
the Convention to overcome the Convention’s present
deficiencies.
365. Any qualification of the right of
Indigenous Peoples to self-determination is racist and is contrary to the
fundamental principles of international law. The proposed caveat paragraph
(currently paragraph 27) of the official WCAR State Declaration is a
manifestation of racism against Indigenous Peoples and should be deleted in its
entirety.
366. Recommends that States examine their
constitutions, law, legal systems, and policies to identify and eradicate both
explicit and inherent racism towards Indigenous Peoples
367. Recommend that States eliminate laws
and policies that deny or limit Indigenous land and resource rights, including
rights to subsoil resources, and affirmatively recognize Indigenous Peoples as
the rightful owners and managers of their lands and resources. States must take
immediate and effective measures to end the devastation and contamination of
Indigenous waters, lands, territories and natural resources and the
dispossession and denial of access to these waters, lands, territories and
natural resources.
368. Demands that States provide
appropriate remedies for breaches of rights and treaties. Remedies for such
breaches shall be determined with the full and equal participation and consent
of the Indigenous peoples involved. Conflicts and disputes which cannot
otherwise be settled should be submitted to competent international
bodies.
369. Demands that all states immediately
release all Indigenous political prisoners. States must also recognize
Indigenous justice systems and end discrimination in State criminal and civil
justice systems.
370. Calls upon States to recognize,
respect and ensure mechanisms for the development of traditional medicine, and
ensure accessible and effective inter-cultural health systems.
371. Urges States to commit financial
resources to anti-racism education and media campaigns to promote anti-racism
awareness, the values of acceptance, tolerance, diversity and respect for the
cultures of all Indigenous Peoples. In particular, States should strive to
promote an accurate understanding of the histories and cultures of Indigenous
Peoples. States must ensure full access to inter-cultural education at all
levels.
372. Urges States to penalize degrading
images of Indigenous Peoples, in particular Indigenous women. States should
guarantee to Indigenous Peoples access to the media and assist in the
development of Indigenous media.
373. Urges States to recognize the
languages of Indigenous peoples and devote resources and establish programs to
ensure the survival, promotion, and continuation of such languages. States, in
agreement with Indigenous peoples, should design and implement language and
education policies that promote the right of Indigenous peoples to assert their
cultures and languages.
374. Demands that States take immediate
and effective measures to end the devastation and contamination of Indigenous
waters, lands, territories and natural resources and the dispossession and
denial of access to these waters, lands, territories and natural resources.
Environmental racism specifically affects Indigenous Peoples’ traditional
means of subsistence, their cultural and spiritual practices, and their sacred
and historical sites.
375. Recommends that Indigenous
governments and States along with indigenous women and with their full and
equal participation, develop programs to promote their civil, political,
economic, social and cultural rights; to end disadvantage due to gender and
race; to address urgent problems affecting them in all areas of life, including
education and employment, health and disability , traditional knowledge,
justice, environment and biodiversity; and to end policies of forced
sterilization and the use of violence in the public and private
spheres.
376. Calls upon States to end the
militarization of Indigenous Peoples’ lands and territories and the
forced relocation of Indigenous Peoples. The grave situation of the
militarization of Indigenous lands and territories, and resultant massive
violation of their civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights must
end. States have a duty to restore lands already contaminated through military
use.
377. In all measures to be taken by
States that may affect Indigenous Peoples there must be full and effective
participation of Indigenous Peoples. Consultation on an equal basis must be
undertaken by the State with the Indigenous Peoples affected and such measures
must not be implemented without their free and informed consent.
378. Indigenous Peoples freely express
their own identity and exercise their inherent rights free from all forms of
discrimination, which necessarily entails respect for their human rights and
fundamental freedoms. Efforts are now being made to secure universal
recognition for those rights in processes in the U.N. and the Organization of
American States to elaborate declarations on the rights of Indigenous Peoples,
which include the following: to denominate themselves under their own names as
a collective; to participate freely and on an equal footing with a
State’s political, economic, social and cultural development; to maintain
their own forms of organization, lifeways, cultures and traditions; to maintain
and use their own languages and names; to maintain their own legal and economic
structures in the areas where we live; to take part in the development of their
educational and health systems and programmes; to manage and develop their
lands and natural resources, including hunting, gathering and fishing rights;
and to have access to justice on a basis of equality, recognizing their own
forms of administration of justice.
379. Calls for a U.N. World Conference on
Indigenous Peoples.
380. Recommends that the U.N. complete,
in coordination with Indigenous Peoples, a comprehensive review of the
International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.
381. Urges States and financial and
development institutions to mitigate the negative effects of globalization by
examining how their polices and practices affect Indigenous Peoples, and to
ensure that their policies and practices conform to human rights standards and
contribute to the eradication of racism by including the participation of
Indigenous Peoples in development projects in accordance with the principle of
informed consent and Indigenous self-government; by democratizing international
financial institutions; by developing enforceable codes of conduct for
transnational corporations; and by consulting with Indigenous Peoples in any
matter that may affect their physical, spiritual or cultural
integrity.
382. Recommends that the U.N. effectively
implement the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples, respecting the processes
of the Indigenous Peoples in making nominations to the Forum. This should be
done in the following manner:
383. The U.N. should provide sufficient
additional funding to carry out the mandate of the forum.
384. The President of ECOSOC should
establish an autonomous Secretariat including Indigenous participation in the
Secretariat.
385. The U.N. should provide full
financial support and resources to the Special Rapporteur on Indigenous
Peoples.
Declaration
147. Racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance as experienced by most migrant, immigrant,
indigenous as well as second generation descendent workers is manifested
through multiple forms of discrimination practiced in the workplace and in the
communities in which they live. These include restrictive and exclusionary
immigration and labour laws and policies, the denial of trade union rights,
exploitative working conditions, low wages and non payment of wages, denial or
restriction of labour law protections based on types of job, lack of access to
public services such as health, housing and social security. It also includes
subtle and overt acts of hostility and violence based on colour, race,
nationality, gender, age, caste, class and ethnicity. Full labour law
protections must be afforded all workers with no discrimination based on
occupation.This discrimination is structural in nature and contravenes
international standards. Undocumented migrant workers are doubly at risk of
racism and xenophobia. Their lack of legal status is too often used as an
excuse to deny human rights, including access to the law and social
services.
148. The negative effects of
globalisation has a specific impact on workers. In particular globalisation has
a negative effect on women who are trafficked as as sex trade workers or
employed as low wage and sweat shop workers.
149. Colonialism, slavery and other forms
of servitude are primary sources of racism, race discrimination and xenophobia
and despite international agreements to outlaw slavery, the trafficking of
African children for slavery and forced labour is still ongoing whilst the
enslavement and other forms of servitude of Africans and African descendants,
Asian and Asian descendants and other marginalized groups have resulted in
substantial and lasting economic, political and cultural damage to these
peoples. This form of exploitation is particularly damaging to African and
African descendant women, who are still victims of sexual trafficking and
sexual exploitation, poverty and social exclusion
150. The policies and programmes of the
WTO and International Financial Institutions, in particular the IMF and World
Bank, often aggravate racism and other discriminatory practices.
151. Recognising the valuable role of
trade unions, as democratic and representative organizations of working people
and their unique functions of trade unions in fighting racism and
discrimination in the labour market and in society generally, we recognize the
central role of those affected by racism in developing, implementing and
monitoring policies and programmes to eliminate racism.
Programme of Action
386. Racism requires systematic responses
at all levels. These responses must be developed recognizing the central role
of those effected by racism and the need to be measurable and monitored for
impact. These responses must include the ratification and implementation of
existing international norms, in particular the UN Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the UN Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on
the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their
Families; ILO Convention 111 and other core labour standards, C169 (Indigenous
and Tribal People Convention), C143 (Migrant Workers Convention) and the
Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights.
387. Legal Measures to combat racism and
gender discrimination must also include specific attention to employment rights
including pay equity and assurances that all workers have recourse to labour
law protections. The burden of proof in race discrimination litigation should
also lay with those accused of racism.
388. Effect improved gathering of data
for the more effective policy formulation and strategic planning particularly
in the field of employment, access to social provision and services including
housing, education, health etc. This information and consequent policy
development should be systematically shared at regional and international
levels.
389. Education, both formal and informal,
is one of the cornerstones of the strategies required to eliminate racism in
the workplace and in society as a whole. Education strategies must include
detailed and measurable plans by both governments and NGOs.
390. Governments must prioritise
financial resources to ensure that anti racism education is an integrated and
core part of the curriculum within schools. This should be alongside measures
which should be taken to ensure that teachers are more reflective of the
communities which they represent. Governments should require schools to develop
comprehensive and measurable anti racist plans of action which include
monitoring arrangements to identify progress.
391. Governments must prioritise
financial resources, for NGOs, to support anti racism education programmes and
initiatives. These programmes should include education programmes in the
workplace.
392. A central part of the process of the
Durban plan of action, and follow up, must be a comprehensive process of
monitoring the change process. Trade unions and other NGOs must be a
comprehensive process of monitoring the change process. Trade unions and other
NOGOs must be an integral part of this process. Therefore mechanisms for
ensuring the involvement of NGOs and, in particular, those effected by racism,
must be established by governments and subject to regular reports.
393. NGOs must establish mechanisms for
ensuring that the follow up to the Conference can be co-ordinated and fed
through the structures established through discussion with
governments.
394. Governments must prioritise
resources to support NGOs in the follow up process to the Conference. The
allocation of resources should prioritise the need to involve those who are
directly effected by racism.
Declaration:
152. We affirm the fundamental right to
freedom of expression and freedom of the press as a key tenet of human rights
and a free democracy. We recognize, however, that media plays an important role
in shaping people’s attitudes and beliefs about race and this impact is
increasing with globalization and increasing concentration of media
ownership.
153. We believe that information and
communication technology can be used as a positive tool to combat racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia, caste-based discrimination and related
intolerance and can promote tolerance, respect for diversity in ways that help
ensure opportunity, empowerment and access to information .
154. Information and communication
technology is a factor in global inequities as developed countries not only
have greater access to these technologies but are also producers of these
technologies thereby rendering developing countries consumers. We urge equal
development that results in greater equity and balance in both access to
resources and training opportunities to develop key skills.
Declaration:
155. The restructuring of the global
economy facilitates the transnational movement of capital but tries to restrict
the and control the movement labour, thereby exacerbating regional economic
inequalities and the commodification and de-regularisation of migrant workers,
and especially forcing workers into ‘flexible’ conditions of work
which are exploitative and which undermine all universally accepted labour
standards.
156. We express our concern that in many
countries official programmes and actions aimed at controlling migration and
regulating inter-ethnic relations result in new and covert forms of
institutionalised racism. Migrants and migrant workers, both documented and
undocumented, contribute in various ways to the well-being and enrichment of
their own societies as well as of the societies in which they reside and work
and their access to equal rights and opportunities in these countries,
including access to permanent residency, citizenship, and the recognition of
their own independent status in all immigration matters, especially for women
and children must be recognised.
157. Migrants and migrant workers as well
as members of their families are vulnerable to racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance. The technical qualifications, skills and
expertise of migrants and migrant workers need to be valued, and their full and
fair access to employment in both the public and private sector need to be
ensured.
158. Women migrants and migrant workers,
including those with disabilities, are especially vulnerable to all forms of
violence and abuse due to the ways in which sexist and patriarchal ideologies
frame the current international division of labour and contribute to the
feminization of the work force, undervaluing women’s work, and
restricting women to sectors of employment such as domestic work and
entertainment.
159. Acknowledging that immigrant and
refugee women, young people, girls and children very often constitute a high
proportion of workers in informal employment including home-working or
outworking, domestic work, sweatshops and the sex industry. Language barriers,
citizenship status, race discrimination and being part of an ethnic minority
contribute to the vulnerability of women, girls and children who work in this
sector. Governments should legislate to protect these women, girls and
children, prioritizing their human rights and undertake awareness raising
programmes, working with community organizations, ethnic communities and unions
to ensure that migrant workers and refugees are not exploited and made aware of
how to enforce their rights. Governments should also reform labour law to
ensure that female dominated employment sectors enjoy complete labour rights
protection.
Programme of Action
395. Effectively keep and use
disaggregated statistics to assess the complexities of modern migration
patterns.
396. Eliminate discriminatory treatment
by public authorities, in particular police, other law enforcement officers,
immigration officers as well as de facto immigration officials such as airport
and airline employees, of persons from countries of immigration, asylum seekers
and undocumented persons and to ensure that these groups are provided with
necessary information and legal assistance in the event of torture, ill
treatment or any kind of violence perpetrated on the basis of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
397. Provide gender-sensitive human
rights education and anti-racism training programmes for key professionals
frequently in contact with immigrants and asylum seekers, including customs and
immigration officials.
398. Provide education and capacity
building for refugees, asylum seekers, documented and undocumented migrant
workers and migrants on their rights, responsibilities, and avenues for
redress.
399. Recognize the professions,
qualifications, titles, and degrees of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrant
workers, during the period in which they are waiting for legalisation of their
status.
400. Recognize and give value to
foreign-trained and foreign-educated migrants, migrant workers, refugees, and
asylum seekers, stateless and internally displaced persons thereby enabling
them to use and improve their skills.
401. Ensure the protection of economic,
social, cultural, civil and political rights, including the right to free
mobility and assembly, the access to social services, health care, education,
political participation, including voting rights at all levels, of documented
and undocumented migrants, migrant workers and members of their families and to
enact and enforce legislation and policies in this respect without
delay.
402. Initiate and review policies and
regulations that facilitate the regularization and decriminalisation of
undocumented migrants, and in the meantime ensure respect for their
non-derogable human rights and freedoms, including the right to life, the right
not to be tortured, the right to equal access to justice and to security, as
well as to other basic rights such as, their right to education, housing,
health (with due attention to persons with disabilities), living wages,
employment, access to culture and the environment without fear of arbitrary
detention and summary deportation.
403. Actively promote and support
self-initiatives and non-governmental organizations working to organize and
unionize documented and undocumented migrants and migrant workers, allocate
sufficient resources, especially to women’s groups, to build their
capacities to more effectively address human rights violations within their
community.
404. Protect the equal rights of migrant
women who are particularly vulnerable to violence, including sexual and
domestic violence and other forms of abuse, ensure free and full access to
remedies for human rights violations and grant them their own independent
status in all immigration and migration matters.
405. Recognize the particular
vulnerability of migrant and refugee children, particularly unaccompanied and
abandoned children, and appoint qualified guardians to children separated from
their parents or otherwise unaccompanied by a responsible adult. Furthermore
grant citizenship to children of migrant workers in the receiving
countries.
406. Recognise that there are diverse
ways to establish family relationships and grant and facilitate entry for
purposes of family reunification and ensure that, once admitted, family members
enjoy secure and independent residence status, including the full enjoyment of
social, economic, cultural, civil and political rights.
407. Develop and implement effective
gender-sensitive measures and programmes to ensure that the human rights of
foreign domestic workers are protected from any form of discrimination,
violence, physical and sexual abuse the rights in respect to their
trade-unions, professional and technical associations, as well as the rights to
fair remuneration are guaranteed and implemented, including to right to redress
mechanisms for these rights.
Establish policies that will hold
sending and receiving country governments accountable while also enabling them
to monitor the activities of non-state agencies such as private recruitment
agencies and syndicates.
Declaration
160. Appalled by the on-going colonial
military Israeli occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (the West
Bank including Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip), we declare and call for an
immediate end to the Israeli systematic perpetration of racist crimes including
war crimes, acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing (as defined in the Statute of
the International Criminal Court), including uprooting by military attack, and
the imposition of any and all restrictions and measures on the population to
make life so difficult that the only option is to leave the area, and state
terrorism against the Palestinian people, recognizing that all of these methods
are designed to ensure the continuation of an exclusively Jewish state with a
Jewish majority and the expansion of its borders to gain more land, driving out
the indigenous Palestinian population.
161. We declare that this alien
domination and subjugation with the denial of territorial integrity amounts to
colonialism, which denies the fundamental rights of self-determination,
independence and freedom of Palestinians. Condemn this process of settler
colonialism through the on-going collective punishments, expropriation and
destruction of Palestinian lands, homes, property, agricultural land and crops;
the establishment of illegal Israeli settlements, the mass transfer of Israeli
Jewish populations to the illegally expropriated Palestinian land and the
development of a permanent and illegal Israeli infrastructure, including
by-pass roads.
162. We declare Israel as a racist,
apartheid state in which Israels brand of apartheid as a crime against humanity
has been characterized by separation and segregation, dispossession, restricted
land access, denationalization, ¨bantustanization¨ and inhumane
acts.
163. Appalled by the inhumane acts
perpetrated in the maintenance of this new form of apartheid regime through the
Israeli state war on civilians including military attacks, torture, arbitrary
arrests and detention, the imposition of severe restrictions on movement
(curfews, imprisonment and besiegement of towns and villages), and systematic
collective punishment, including economic strangulation and deliberate
impoverishment, denial of the right to food and water, the right to an adequate
standard of living, the right to housing, the right to education and the right
to work.
164. We recognize that targeted victims
of Israel´s brand of apartheid and ethnic cleansing methods have been in
particular children, women and refugees and condemn the disproportionate
numbers of children and women killed and injured in military shooting and
bombing attacks. Recognize the right of return of refugees and internally
displaced people to their homes of origin, restitution of properties, and
compensation for damages, losses and other crimes committed against them, as
guaranteed in international law.
165. Appalled by the discrimination
against the Palestinians inside Israel which include: The imposition of
discriminatory laws, including the discriminatory laws of return and
citizenship, which emphasize the ethnicity of the Israeli state as a Jewish
state; the granting of benefits or privileges solely to the Jewish Israeli
citizens; the imposition of restrictions on the civil and political rights of
Palestinians because of their national belonging or because they do not belong
to the majority ethnic group;The negation of the right of Palestinians to equal
access to resources of the State and civil equality, including affirmative
action policies, which recognize the historical discrimination against
Palestinians inside Israel.
Programme of Action
417. Call for the immediate enforcement
of international humanitarian law, specifically the Fourth Geneva Convention
1949, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories through the adoption of all
measures to ensure its enforcement including all measures employed against the
South African Apartheid regime. Call for the immediate convening of the High
Contracting Parties to implement this process in fulfillment of their
obligation to ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances. Also call
for the immediate deployment of an independent, effective international
protection force for Palestinian civilians and the dismantlement of the illegal
Jewish Israeli colonies (settlements) and a complete withdrawal of the colonial
military occupation.
418. Call upon the United Nations to
ensure the implementation of the various UN resolutions on the Occupied
Palestinian Territories including the withdrawal of the Israeli colonial
military occupation (of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem),
the right of return for refugees, and for the protection for refugees of the UN
High Commission for Refugees until such time as they may be able to exercise
their right to return and in accordance with UN resolution
419. Also call for the reinstitution of
UN resolution 3379 determining the practices of Zionism as racist practices
which propagate the racial domination of one group over another through the
implementation of all measures designed to drive out other indigenous groups,
including through colonial expansionism in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
(in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, including Jerusalem), and through the
application of discriminatory laws of return and citizenship, to obliterate
their national identity and to maintain the exclusive nature of the State of
Israel as a Jewish state to the exclusion of all other groups. Also call for
the repeal of all discriminatory laws within the state of Israel, including
those of return and citizenship, which are part of the institutionalized racism
and Apartheid regime in Israel.
419. Call for the establishment of a war
crimes tribunal to investigate and bring to justice those who may be guilty of
war crimes, acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing and the crime of Apartheid
which amount to crimes against humanity that have been or continue to be
perpetrated in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
420. Call for an increased awareness of
the root causes of the Israel’s belligerent occupation and systematic
human rights violations as a racist, apartheid system, through relevant UN
agencies working closely with international civil society networks to widely
disseminate information including educational packs for schools and
universities, films and publications.
421. Call for the establishment of a UN
Special Committee on Apartheid and Other Racist Crimes Against Humanity
perpetrated by the Israeli Apartheid regime to monitor and to report Apartheid
and other racist crimes, and to recommend the implementation of measures to
combat Apartheid and other racist crimes.
422. Call for the establishment of
programmes and institutions to combat the racist media distortion, stereotyping
and propaganda, including the demonizing and dehumanizing of Palestinians as
all being violent and terrorists, and undeserving of human rights protections.
Call for the correction of misleading information surrounding their status as
indigenous peoples, the history of the violations perpetrated against them, and
the on-going distortion of the facts and nature of the peace
negotiations.
423. Call for the launch of an
international anti Israeli Apartheid movement as implemented against South
African Apartheid through a global solidarity campaign network of international
civil society, UN bodies and agencies, business communities and to end the
conspiracy of silence among states, particularly the European Union and the
United States.
424. Call upon the international
community to impose a policy of complete and total isolation of Israel as an
apartheid state as in the case of South Africa which means the imposition of
mandatory and comprehensive sanctions and embargoes, the full cessation of all
links (diplomatic, economic, social, aid, military cooperation and training)
between all states and Israel. Call upon the Government of South Africa to take
the lead in this policy of isolation, bearing in mind its own historical
success in countering the undermining policy of “constructive
engagement” with its own past Apartheid regime.
425. Condemnation of those states who are
supporting, aiding and abetting the Israeli Apartheid state and its
perpetration of racist crimes against humanity including ethnic cleansing, acts
of genocide.
Declaration:
166. There is an inextricable link
between racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and
the creation of situation which generate refugees, asylum seekers, stateless
and displaced persons.
167. In situations of flight and
displacement, in refugee camps and in the process of resettlement, refugees,
asylum seekers, stateless and displaced persons are especially vulnerable to
all forms of violence and abuse, especially during their integration
168. We are particularly concerned about
the situation of the Bhutanese people forcibly displaced from their country
under the racist ‘One Nation One People’ policy, which has
reallocated the land of these legitimate Bhutanese citizens to other ethnic
groups and deliberately delayed their peaceful repatriation.
169. Women constitute 80% of the
world’s refugees. Women refugees, asylum seekers, stateless and displaced
persons are victimised due to the intersectionality of gender and disability
and other forms of discrimination and face many difficulties in every stage of
their flight and displacement.
170. We call for the recognition of
racial discrimination against refugees on grounds of ethnicity, nationality,
sexual orientation and gender identity which negatively affects their legal
status and conditions of integration and resettlement.
171. The physical and psychological
conditions of asylum seekers, recognized and unrecognized refugees, stateless
persons should be recognised especially to ensure that those of them who are
victims of torture and detention in their countries of origin are not detained
in receiving countries. The permanent, statutory presence of humanitarian
organizations to help and assist refugees, should be provided by law, funded by
the State and programmed in a pluralistic manner.
Programme of Action
395. Effectively keep and use
disaggregated statistics to assess the complexities of modern migration
patterns.
396. Eliminate discriminatory treatment
by public authorities, in particular police, other law enforcement officers,
immigration officers as well as de facto immigration officials such as airport
and airline employees, of persons from countries of immigration, asylum seekers
and undocumented persons and to ensure that these groups are provided with
necessary information and legal assistance in the event of torture, ill
treatment or any kind of violence perpetrated on the basis of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
397. Provide gender-sensitive human
rights education and anti-racism training programmes for key professionals
frequently in contact with immigrants and asylum seekers, including customs and
immigration officials.
398. Provide education and capacity
building for refugees, asylum seekers, documented and undocumented migrant
workers and migrants on their rights, responsibilities, and avenues for
redress.
399. Recognize the professions,
qualifications, titles, and degrees of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrant
workers, during the period in which they are waiting for legalisation of their
status.
400. Recognize and give value to
foreign-trained and foreign-educated migrants, migrant workers, refugees, and
asylum seekers, stateless and internally displaced persons thereby enabling
them to use and improve their skills.
408. Develop programmes and measures for
refugees and asylum seekers, with particular attention to women, children,
persons with disability and the elderly, that adhere to and are guided by the
right of everyone to seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from
persecution’ as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
and ensure the implementation of national legislation and policies in relation
to refugees and asylum seekers be based on a full and inclusive application of
the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Optional Protocol relating to the Status of
Refugees in light of its object and purpose, in particular the
Convention’s Article 3 on non-discrimination and the full respect of the
principle of ‘non-refoulement’, as well as all relevant regional
Conventions on the protection of human rights.
409. Implement the United Nations
Guidelines for Internal Displacement and ensure that national governments, in
collaboration with international governmental and non-governmental agencies
provide adequate statistics on internally displaced persons.
410. Review current national legislation
and measures and refrain from introducing any further measures which may be
contrary to the spirit of the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol and can
prevent refugees from accessing protection such as visa regimes, restrictive
interpretation of the Convention, posting of screening officers in countries of
origins and airports, detention of asylum seekers, carriers’ sanctions,
readmission and involuntary repatriation practices, and ‘safe third
country’ practices.
411. Ensure that legislation and policies
take due account of and abide by the legal interpretations, policy directives,
guidelines and recommendations of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) and recognize the role of this body as guarantor of the
correct application of the 1951 Convention.
412. Acknowledge that persecution
motivated by racism, racial discrimination and ethnicity can include the
specific targeting of women and recognize this as a basis for granting asylum
and eliminate limitations on the right of women to transmit their nationality
to their children, on an equal basis with men.
413. Respect and implement the economic,
social, cultural, civil and political rights of refugees,
asylum seekers and internally displaced
persons.
414. Ensure that children of refugees,
asylum seekers and internally displaced persons are immediately registered at
birth, to suppress instances of statelessness and ulterior related
discrimination.
415. Take immediate measures to correct
the systemic and structural imbalances in burden sharing, resource allocation
and sharing of responsibilities in hosting and giving assistance to refugees in
all parts of the world.
416. Terminate the covert and overt
discriminatory practices undergirding the imbalanced response to humanitarian
assistance in the various world regions, and between refugee groups, with due
respect to the specific needs of refugees in refugee camps, shelters or other
housing facilities while providing for their integration or volunteer
resettlement to the country of origin and also enabling them to reach their
families in other countries of arrival while they are waiting for recognition
of their refugee status.
Declaration
172. We welcome the initiative of the UN
Secretary General in convening the Millenium Peace Summit for World Spiritual
and Religious Leaders in celebrating the 20th anniversary of the UN
Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance Based on Religion or
Belief and look forward to the full implementation of its conclusions by all
States.
173. We recognize that some religious
communities and institutions have acknowledged their historical complicity in
perpetrating the ground for, or reinforcing colonization, apartheid, the Slave
Trade and slavery, and call for all other concerned religious institutions to
undertake the same action to declare and denounce racism and racial
discrimination as immoral and inhumane.
174. The freedom of expression, thought,
conscience, religion and belief without any distinction, exclusion or
restriction or preference should form the basis on which States protect the
right of individuals and groups to profess and practice their own religion or
belief as well as to ensure their right to effectively participate in civil,
political, economic, social and cultural life.
Programme of Action
426. Welcome the initiative of the UN
Secretary General in convening the Millenium Peace Summit for World Spiritual
and Religious Leaders in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the
UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance Based on Religion
or Belief and looking forward to its full implementation by all
States.
427. Religious intolerance has often
exacerbated systemic discrimination and racism resulting in racial violence and
intersectional systems of oppression based on, but not limited to, gender,
gender identity, sexual orientation, class and economic status, HIV/AIDS and
health related issues and abilities;
428. All States should guarantee the
right to freedom of expression, thought, conscience, religion and belief
without any distinction, exclusion or restriction or preference and that States
are obliged to protect the right of individuals and groups to profess and
practice their own religion or belief as well as to ensure their right to
effectively participate in civil, political, economic, social and cultural
life.
429. All States are encouraged to adopt
legislation, policies and measures that fulfill the requirements of N human
rights instruments concerning freedom of religion or belief and to employ
effective mechanisms that ensure their implementation and review national
legislation that is discriminatory to religious minorities.
430. All States are encouraged to fully
cooperate with the competent UN mechanisms in this field and particularly to
extend an open invitation to the UN Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance
and to provide the Special Rapporteur with their full support, cooperation
including access to minority religious communities and individuals.
431. The UN Commission on Human Rights is
to be requested to establish a monitoring unit on religious intolerance within
the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and in cooperation with
the Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance and that such a unit is to be
adequately staffed and funded.
432. All States should take effective
measures against politicization of religious institutions as well as other
areas of social and economic life, as this may lead to marginalizing dissenting
religious communities and individuals, and they should particularly ensure that
women’s basic human rights are not denied or in any way limited by the
use of religion or belief.
433. All States are called upon to
refrain from the perpetration of religion-based intolerance and discrimination,
including when linked to race, through a systematic stereotyping of religious
minorities in the media, educational curricula and textbooks leading to their
further marginalization and distortions.
434. Religious communities and leaders
are called upon to play a positive role in bringing spiritual and ethical
insights and a commitment to education to effect and promote reconciliation,
healing and liberation to address historical and present day inequalities and
discrimination;
Declaration:
71. Slave-holder nations, colonizers and
occupying countries have unjustly enriched themselves at the expense of those
people that they enslaved and colonized and whose land they have occupied. As
these nations largely owe their political, economic and social domination to
the exploitation of Africa, Africans and Africans in the Diaspora they should
recognize their obligation to provide these victims just and equitable
reparations.
72. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade,
slavery and colonialism is a crime against humanity because of its abhorrent
barbarism, its magnitude, long duration, numbers of people brutalized and
murdered and because of their negation of the very essence of humanity of their
victims, therefore, reparations programs must be comprehensive enough in
addressing all areas of concern including economic, educational, health, land
ownership and possession as well as the racially biased systems of
administration of justice that brutalize Africans and people of African
Descent.
73. The Trans-Saharan and Trans-Indian
Ocean Slave Trades and slavery must also be acknowledged and recognised as
crimes against humanity, which brutalised communities and stripped people of
their dignity, and for which those communities must receive justice and
redress.
74. There is an unbroken chain from the
slave trade, slavery, colonialism, foreign occupation, apartheid, racial
discrimination and the contemporary forms of structural racism that maintain
barriers to the full and equal participation of the victims of racism and
discrimination in all spheres of public life;
75. The enslavement of Indigenous
Peoples, the appropriation of their lands and exploitation of their resources
must be acknowledged and repaired and the historic precedents for reparations
to the victims of gross violations of human rights should be applied to
them;
76. Victims of declared and undeclared
wars throughout the world have had their human rights violated because of their
race, ethnicity and the intersection of race, ethnicity and gender and
disability and are in need of reparation;
Programme of
Action
The United Nations and States
shall:
237. Ensure that, in accordance with
universally recognised human rights norms and standards, all nations, groups
and their members who are the victims of crimes against humanity based on race,
colour, caste, descent, ethnicity or indigenous or national origin are provided
reparations;
238. Ensure that the perpetrators and
beneficiaries of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, Slavery, Colonialism, Foreign
Occupation acknowledge that these polices and practices are crimes against
humanity;
239. Create programs of reparations for
the victims of crimes against humanity and violations of human rights reaching
the masses of the victimized and not merely an elite few and designed to
address the specific character of the peoples injured that include:
240. Restitution encompassing the
unconditional return of land, heritage icons and artifacts; the provision of
land to those forced to leave their homelands and forcibly resettled in foreign
lands; cancellation of debt of countries victimized by these crimes against
humanity including African countries and impoverished countries in the
Americas;
241. Monetary compensation that will
repair the victims, including Africa, Africans and African descendants, by
closing the economic gap created by these crimes and encompassing debt
cancellation, programs for creation and enhancement of participation in
production enterprises; full accessibility and affirmative inclusion in all
levels of employment opportunity; grants of cash payments based on assessment
of losses resulting from the violations of human rights and crimes against
humanity;
242. Restoration including release of all
political prisoners, providing for health care, including mental health care,
educational and social services that are specifically designed to correct the
injuries caused by the violations of human rights and crimes against
humanity;
243. Satisfaction and guarantee of
non-repetition includes the public acknowledgment of the crimes against
humanity; the correction of the history of Africa, African and African
descendants in educational materials and in the media; acknowledgment of the
economic base of exploitation of the victims of crimes against humanity and
violations of human rights and the unjust enrichment of the
perpetrators;
244. Create an independent international
and regional monitoring organization with the responsibility to assure that
programs of reparations are designed and implemented with timetables and that
satisfy the provisions of this programme of action are accomplished;
245. We call on all States to acknowledge
the principle of reparations for the cultural, demographic, economic,
political, social and moral wrongs of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade,
Trans-Saharan slave trade, Trans-Indian Ocean slave trade, slavery and
colonisation and that African and African Descendant victims reserve the right
to determine the form and manner of reparations;
246. We call on all concerned African
nations to take formal legal action to obtain the return of stolen cultural
artifacts, gold, money, mineral wealth and the return of occupied land on the
continent and call on the international community to support such
actions.
Declaration:
175. Anti-Tziganisms is a specific form
of racism and racial discrimination against Roma , manifested by
stigmatization, flagrant violations of their fundamental human rights, denied
access to public services, education, employment, denied participation to
decision-making processes at local and central administration levels,
persecution, abuse, violence, forced deportation, ethnic cleansing,
extermination and ethnocide.
176. Drawing lessons from history, we
declare as crimes against humanity the slavery of Roma, the ethnocide / forced
assimilation and genocide against Roma and the extermination of Roma during the
Holocaust.
177. Acknowledging the transnational
character of the Roma identity and its common roots from India, we strongly
support the right of Roma to be recognized by the UN, by the regional
inter-governmental bodies and organizations, by States and by the whole world,
as a non-territorial nation.
178. Deploring the public educational
policies that deny the development of the esteem of children and youth of Roma,
we strongly condemn monocultural autarchic and inflexible educational systems
which ignore or stigmatize the Roma cultural identity.
179. We deplore the lack of equal access
to employment and social services, including justice, citizenship, housing,
schooling, health care and public information for Roma and particularly Roma
women, strongly condemn those legislative provisions and public policies that
encourage such practices or avoid measures to combat them and consider this
fact as being institutionalized racism.
Programme of
Action
435. We urge the United Nations to
elaborate and propose for adoption to its members states legally binding
instruments on the Roma rights, such as an International Charter on Roma
Rights, in order to protect and guarantee the collective rights of the Roma
people.
436. We urge the United Nations to
provide adequate Roma representation in relevant internaoitnal and
intergovernmental organizations by receiving seats in the United Nations as
elected representatives of the Roma, on equal footing with the other nations of
the world.
437. We recommend the United Nations and
other regional bodies to provide for adequate Roma representation in relevant
international, regional and intergovernmental organizations by receiving seats
in the United Nations as elected representatives of the Roma.
438. We call upon governments to review,
adopt, strengthen and enforce national legislation prohibiting racial
discrimination against Roma as well as to adopt and implement affirmative
action policies for Roma in employment, education, housing, social security and
healthcare services, in order to protect the members of these communities and
to prevent and punish such practices. Furthermore, appropriate monitoring
bodies, with a local network, need to be established to ensure that governments
fullfil their human rights obligations.
439. We recommend States to include the
issue of combating racial discrimination against Roma as one of the major
topics in bilateral and multilateral treaties.
440. We urge the United Nations, Council
of Europe, and the Organisation of American States to establish under thier
jurisdiction, a Permanent Roma Forum, as a body of elected representatives,
which shall monitor and report on the Roma situation in the world and on the
implementation of international standards addressing the Roma issue.
441. We welcome the CERD General
Recommendation XXVII „Discrimination on Roma” and urge governments
to implement these recommenations.
442. We urge governments to ensure the
institutional development and full participation to central and local
administration, to ensure the right to free movement of the Roma, to support
the preservation and development of the Roma cultural identity, and to provide
adequate camping places with all necesary facilities for those Roma who
preserve the nomadic life-style.
443. We urge Governments to take concrete
measures and support the full development of the Roma children and youth
positive self-esteem, the deconstruction of their internalized stigma and the
Roma identity awareness, by establishing identity assertive education
institutions and by promoting the Roma history, Romani as teaching language and
ethnic assertion education programs in the mainstream school.
444. We call upon States to provide the
Roma children with equal access to quality education by the desegregation of
the schooling system, by enabling Roma parents to take part to school processes
and decision; by training and employing Roma teachers and school mediators; and
by the development of a more sensitive, inclusive and flexible education
systems and school curricula, including non-formal education and distance
education, internet classes in places for encampment.
445. We urge governments to fully support
the intercultural education, including the provision of adequate funding, for
the inclusion of the Roma history in text books and school
curricula.
446. We strongly urge governments to draw
lessons from history, to acknowledge and publicly condemn the Roma slavery and
the German Holocaust against Roma during the Second World War, and we also call
upon States which are responsible of these crimes against humanity to fully
assume their responsibility, to provide public appology and prompt, adequate
and fair reparation and compensation to Roma communities and individuals who
were victims of such policies and practices.
447. We urge the United Nations to use
its influence to immediately stop the Germany policy of Roma deportation to
Former Yugoslavia, a region of ethnic cleansing and war.
448. We urge States and
inter-governamental bodies to immediately call upon the involved forces to stop
the genocide and the ethnic cleansing against Roma in countries where it takes
place. Beginning in 1999, Roma were ethnically cleanesed from Kosovo by ethnic
Albanians. Kosovo is the worst catastrophy for Roma since the
Holocaust.
TRAVELLERS
States and Governments should pay
particular attention to and adopt immediate and concrete measures to eradicate
the widespread discrimination and persecution targeting Travellers including
through the establishment of structures and processes, in partnership between
the public authorities and representatives of the Traveller
Communities.
Declaration
180. Despite the existence of binding
international agreements and conventions establishing the principles of
non-discrimination and equality without distinctions regarding race, age,
language, ethnic group, culture, religion, disability or other status, and
growing recognition of the freedom of sexual orientation as a fundamental human
right, there remain serious obstacles to the full enjoyment of civil and
political rights, as well as economic, social and cultural rights of lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgendered persons.
181. There are high rates of physical,
sexual and psychological violence in the public domain and in private life as
well as hate crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons,
particularly in cases aggravated by other forms of discrimination.
182. Discrimination and intolerance based
on sexual orientation and gender identity have led to high suicide rates among
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered persons in many parts of the
world.
183. Whenever measures are not taken to
provide a clean environment because of discrimination on the basis of race,
gender, ethnicity, caste and untouchability, age, sexual orientation, gender
identity, disabilities, religion, culture, social status, nationality and other
forms of discrimination, has often caused increased health problems for many
members of these groups.
184. We note with great concern that
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other intolerance, including
homophobia and sexism, have played a significant role in barring access to
education and treatment for those infected, presumed to be infected and
affected by HIV/AIDS.
185. We also note with deep concern the
dissemination in the media Of stereotypes and pejorative images of Africans,
African descendants, Indigenous Peoples, Dalits, migrants and other groups
affected by intolerance and discrimination and particularly, women and lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgendered persons of these groups.
Programme of Action
449. Revise existing human rights
instruments and ensure the explicit incorporation of the respect for,
protection, promotion, and fulfillment of self-determined sexual orientation
and gender identity; and take immediate steps to implement all four core
responsibilities incumbent on all governments with regard to human rights, both
civil and political rights, and economic, social, and cultural rights: to
respect these rights, that is not to violate them directly; to protect these
rights, that is to ensure that they are not violated by other parties; to
promote tolerance and awareness of these rights; and to fulfill these rights,
that is to ensure that all persons have the conditions and resources to enjoy
these rights freely, fully, and equally.
450. Develop an International Reparations
Instrument in accordance with universally recognised human rights norms,
whereby all groups and individuals, regardless of race, gender, sexual
orientation, gender identity, age, religion, culture, language, disability,
economic status, political opinion or national origin who have fallen victim of
human rights violations, and in particular discrimination, have the right to
reparation.
451. Enact in their Constitutions,
clauses guaranteeing non-discrimination and the enjoyment of all individual and
collective rights by all persons regardless or race, age, gender, sex, gender
identity, sex, ethnic or social origin, sexual orientation, disability,
religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth.
452. Anti-discrimination policies should
be based on the principle of mainstreaming the issue of combating unfair
discrimination by including into all stages of decision-making:
· guidelines· participation of
target groups· positive actions· implementation mechanisms·
monitoring and impact assessment· review of policies· time
frames· measurable goals· resource allocation· transparent
accountability mechanisms
453. Extend and strengthen programmes on
the prevention of HIV/AIDS, including educational programmes that are sensitive
to diversity of genders, sexual orientation, and cultures.
454. Pursue educational policies that
include cultural, racial and sexual diversity; and that recover the historical
contribution of women in the development of their peoples, communities and
nations.
455. Revise ILO Convention 111 to include
sexual orientation as a ground protected from discrimination.
456. Convene a UN World Conference on
discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
457. Draft a declaration for the
elimination of all forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation and
gender identity.
458. Repeal those laws that criminalize
consensual same-sex relations.
459. Be created and operated with the
participation and representation of all affected
populations and peoples.
460. All States develop immigration laws
and policies that recognize and protect refugees and asylum seekers who are
fleeing persecution on the basis of their gender, gender identity, or sexual
orientation.
Declaration
70. Recognising that the Trans-Atlantic,
Trans-Saharan and Trans-Indian Ocean slave trade and slavery constitute crimes
against humanity and were based on economic exploitation, doctrines of racial
supremacy and racial hatred and have subjected Africans and African
descendants, Indigenous Peoples and many others to the most horrific
denigration of their being including classification as sub-humans and chattel,
subjugation to rape, forced labour, branding, lashings, murder, maiming,
destruction of their languages, cultures, psychological and spiritual
well-being resulting in structural subordination which continues to the
present.
Programme of
Action
233. We demand that educational curricula
reflect the accurate historical experiences of both the victims and the
perpetrators of the Trans Atlantic SlaveTrade, Trans-Saharan and Trans-Indian
Ocean Slave Trade, Slavery and Colonialism.
234. Therefore, we call for the
establishment of an international tribunal within one year to document the
character and extent of harm derived from the Trans-Atlantic slave trade,
Trans-Saharan and Trans-Indian Ocean Slave Trade, slavery and colonialism which
are crimes against humanity.
235. Urge governments in Cameroon,
Mauritania, Niger and Sudan that engage in any form of slavery to eradicate
this practice. In particular, laws abolishing traditional slavery should
include reparations for the victims of these violations. Criminal sanctions
should be imposed on perpetrators of these crimes. States should recognize the
human rights of these victims, including their political, social, economic,
cultural and civil rights.
236. We demand that the United States,
Canada, and those European and Arab nations that participated in and benefited
from the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade, the Trans-Sahara Slave Trade, the
Trans-Indian Ocean Slave Trade, Slavery and the Colonization of Africa, within
one year of the WCAR establish an international compensatory mechanism for
victims of these crimes against humanity.
Declaration:
191. Trafficking in persons is a form of
racism that is recognized as a contemporary form of slavery and is aggravated
by the increase in racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance. The demand side in trafficking is created by a globalized market,
and a patriarchal notion of sexuality. Trafficking happens within and across
boarders, largely in conjunction with prostitution.
192. Women and children are especially
vulnerable to trafficking, as the intersectionality of gender, disability, race
and other forms of discrimination leads to multiple forms of
discrimination.
193. Trafficking in persons must always
be dealt with not purely as a law enforcement issue but within a framework of
respect for the rights of trafficked persons.
Programme of
Action
461. We call on governments to address
their accountability in the growth of sex tourism and to take measures to
prevent trafficking in persons and sexual exploitation, and to promote and
ensure effective legal remedies.
462. We call on governments to recognize
the long-term psychological harms of trafficking and channel resources for the
support of victims including counselling, education, health, shelter, voluntary
repatriation/resident status and live hold.
463. We call on all states and
governments to address the different treatment of trafficked persons,
especially women and children of marginalized groups, in terms of protection,
recognizing that trafficked persons experience multiple
discrimination.
464. We call on all states and
governments to ratify and implement all international and regional instruments
relevant to trafficking in persons, and enact and implement national
legislation, making consent of victims irrelevant, targeting and prosecuting
all actors who profit and gain from trafficking to prostitution, including
buyers.
465. We call on all states and
governments to recognize the accountability of military forces in trafficking,
particularly in the U.S. bases and the U.N. peacekeeping forces.
466. We call on all states to establish
policies to limit and monitor the activities of non-states agencies such as
recruitment agencies.
467. Implement policies and the necessary
legislation prohibiting trafficking of persons. These policies
should:
· Be developed as regional
policies;
· Provide the appropriate
resource allocation for enforcement;
· Pay particular attention to
the trafficking of children, women for sexual exploitation, debt bondage and
exploitative working conditions;
· Assist the victims of
trafficking; and
· Elaborate harsh punitive measures
for trafficking syndicates
· Ratify the UN Trafficking
Protocol, attached to the main convention on transnational organized crime,
Stockholm agenda for action (Addressing sexual Exploration of
Children)·
Declaration:
186. Children and young people,
particularly young Indigenous Peoples, African and African Descendants, Roma
Peoples, Dalits, minorities and peoples of oppressed nationalities, ethnicities
or caste within their States are discriminated against, excluded from and
marginalized in the decision making processes, resulting in the limiting of the
full and active participation in the political, economic and cultural sectors.
In addition, children and young people, particularly girl children and young
women and those with disabilities are discriminated against in education,
health, civil and criminal justice, media and the environment.
187. We strongly condemn public
educational policies that deny the development of children and young
people’s self-esteem, through monocultural autarchic and inflexible
educational systems which ignore or stigmatise any children and young people,
such as but not limited to Indigenous peoples, African and African Descendants,
Roma Peoples, Dalits, minorities and peoples of oppressed nationalities,
ethnicities or castes.
188. Young persons are often portrayed as
criminals, based on stereotypes of race, class and sexual orientation, and this
criminalization results in further marginalization of this
community.
189. The girl child suffers numerous
racist and discriminatory acts and behaviours, which compromise the girl
child’s development with her family, the community and society. This then
impacts negatively on her physical, psychological, biological needs and on her
sense of belonging.
190. The girl child suffers
discrimination and intolerance rooted in wars and killings, which destroy
significant members of her family. In addition, the girl child is commercially
exploited due to unfavourable economic, sociological and cultural factors,
particularly, within families where boys are treated more
advantageously.
Programme of Action:
468. We call on all states and
governments to introduce compulsory anti-racism content with an intersectional
analysis in the school curriculum and orientate teachers to promote anti-racism
and self and mutual respect amongst all race and ethnic groups. Furthermore, to
consult and allow children, young people, their caretakers and their families
to participate in and influence the ongoing racial equality aspects of teacher
training so as to promote public awareness, embracing and promoting cultural
diversity and respect for human rights.
469. We call on all states and
governments to improve reporting at the national level on racial and caste
discrimination and its effects on children and young people, by actively
collecting detail disaggregated and gendered statistical data on issues that
affect children and young people. States should also support the involvement of
children and young people in such a process. In addition, states should
encourage national and international human rights institutions and NGOs to do
the same and make such information available (and place greater emphasis on
children and young people) in reports to CERD and other relevant treaty
bodies.
We call on all states to ratify the
Additional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) which
prohibits the enrolment of children under the age of 18 into the armed forces
and for all states and the UN to ensure its enforcement.
470. Urge governments to allow children,
adolescents and youth to be conscientious objectors as a right to voluntary
participation in any category of the military field, without risking loss of
citizenship rights or social, penal or military coercion.
471. Utilising existing structures, such
as the UN Youth unit, to create effective new and existing networks that
encourage, develop and sustain the talents of all children and young people.
The States should ensure that young people are greatly supported in
participating in the development and implementation of the five year review of
the WCAR and will be encouraged, resourced and supported to contribute to the
elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance, both at international and domestic levels, emphasizing the value
of children’s and young peoples’ experience and encouraging
exchange programs that allow all children and young people to work with their
peers from all over the world, in order to enhance international bonds of
solidarity.
472. Urge States, governments and
communities to implement the recommendations of the regional seminar of experts
on Racial and ethnic conflict prevention in Africa, held in Addis Abbaba in
October 2000, with particular attention to the implementation of the rights of
the girl child to live within the family, to grow in good health, to access
health services, to be provided quality education and play an active role
within the community.
473. Urge all states and governments to
develop a gendered approach in school curricula, which include references on
the specificity of the girl child.
[i]The Declaration and the
Programme of Action is based on the understanding that it reflects the regional
processes and that the voices of the victims of racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia and related intolerance must be heard.
