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PEOPLE
UNITED AGAINST RACISM
Civil Society Forum 2009 for the Durban Review Conference
17-19 April 2009, Geneva, Switzerland
Geneva
2009 Declaration Against Racism
FROM THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE GENEVA CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM 2009
A Time to Speak Out
We participants of the Civil Society Forum for the Durban Review
Conference 2009 held in Geneva 17 to 19 April strongly welcome
the holding of the Durban Review Conference and reaffirm our
full and dedicated support for the Durban Declaration and Plan
of Action (DDPA) adopted by the 2001 World Conference Against
Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related
Intolerance.
We commit
ourselves to renew our efforts and intensify our work for the
implementation of the 2001 landmark programme which constitute a
solid foundation in the struggle of humankind against racism and
racial discrimination.
We
express our deep concern over the decision by some powerful
countries to boycott this important conference which falls short
of their Charter obligations to combat racism and promote human
rights for all.
We are
appalled by the many obstacles that have been put in the way of
preparing and holding of the Durban Review Conference as a
result of lack of political will resulting in the erosion of
support for the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action among
some member states which also has been reflected in the lack of
United Nations support and encouragement for Civil Society
preparations for the Review Conference.
We
strongly believe and insist that the outcome of the 2001 Durban
Conference is and must be recognized on an equal level with the
outcomes of other major United Nations conferences, Summits and
Special sessions and that strong and concerted actions need to
be taken by the United Nations, Member States and Civil Society
to reinforce its standing and rightful place at the top of the
agenda of global priorities.
We must
not forget the historical importance of the Durban Declaration
and Programme of Action in declaring the transatlantic slave
trade as a crime against humanity. It also provided an
understanding and clear analyses of the emergence of the present
day world and the deep roots of racism in the transatlantic
slave trade and colonial era. Its remaining legacies are felt
throughout the world in terms of situations of profound social
and economic inequality, hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice.
While
noting with appreciation all the measures taken since 2001 to
combat racism we are alarmed that
today we are witnessing an upsurge of racism in many countries
as a result of neglect to address root causes and
institutionalised racism. This has been further exacerbated by
the deepening world economic crisis. Racism is now taking an
increasingly violent and aggravated forms in many countries and
regions.
We express our
concern at the increasing acts of xenophobia against migrants,
migrant workers and members of their family, especially by the
migration policies of many countries that lead to aggravated
forms of discrimination. Migrant workers and their families must
be granted residency and equal rights in the countries in which
they contribute through their work.
We are equally
concerned by the increasing discrimination, violation and
exploitation faced by refugees, asylum seekers, stateless
persons, internally displaced persons and trafficked persons,
including women and children, as this constitute an affront to
human rights and human dignity. We seek all the international
community to put the responsibility of all violations of their
rights and all forms of racism and discriminations against them
on the host countries under the international law.
We emphasise
the multiple and aggravated forms of discrimination experienced
by women globally, at work and at home, especially marginalized
and displaced women, which is exacerbated by racism, racial
discrimination and related intolerance and leads to the denial
of their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights
and call for the full respect and implementation of these rights
urgently.
We call on
states to adopt strong and effective measures and support
initiatives for children and youth relating to work, culture and
education so as to eliminate social exclusion and better counter
racism, intolerance and conflicts.
We are alarmed
by the fact that counterterrorism measures after 9/11 have led
to the rise of increased racism, racial discrimination,
xenophobia, racial intolerance and religious stereotyping as new
and contemporary manifestations of racism. We condemn the
stereotyping of religious minorities and call for this to be
closely monitored and addressed by the United Nations bodies.
This includes incitement to hatred based on religious believes,
in particular the serious increase in islamophobia. We call for
the review of the Anti-terror legislation and measures and
actively bring them into accord with international human rights
standards.
We will
continue our work against all forms of racial and religious
discrimination, including afrophobia, anti-Arabism,
anti-Ziganism, anti-Semitism, islamophobia, anti-African and
Indigenous Peoples ancestral spiritual traditions
We acknowledge
that poverty affects the majority of people world-wide who
suffer from unequal distribution of wealth and reiterate that
the present global finance and trade system must be restructured
and reformed in the interest of justice and the equitable
sharing of resources at all levels. This is on behalf of the
healing of a world still divided by the exploitation of peoples’
resources and the past and continuing legacies of slave trade
and colonialism.
We reiterate
that the barbarism of the transatlantic slave trade stands out
in the history of humanity in terms of its magnitude and
organised nature and express our concern over any attempt to
revise the verdict of history of this unparalleled crime against
humanity. We call for the full implementation of the Durban
agreements on the transatlantic slave trade and the full
integration of those provisions as well as those of the recent
General Assembly resolutions in the work of the United Nations
Durban follow up mechanisms. Such an active role for the Durban
follow up mechanisms should provide the ground for a
collaborative effort to bring the matters of remembrance,
identification of legacies, apologies, reparations, repatriation
and other forms of remedies forward.
We call on the
United Nations to create a Permanent Forum for Peoples of
African Descent and African diaspora in order to ensure their
visibility in the UN system.
We note the
continued failure of the international community to recognize
the destruction of many of the worlds indigenous peoples through
the impositions of the dominant culture in the countries they
live. We call on the international community to renew the
attention to this and to recognize the historical debt the world
owes to indigenous peoples worldwide.
We are
appalled by the ongoing atrocities, extreme forms of
institutionalised discrimination and racist colonialist
practices committed against the Palestinian People struggling
against all odds to achieve their inalienable right to
self-determination according to international law. We condemn
the continued impunity of the perpetrators and those responsible
of these crimes against humanity and war crimes and call for
immediate measures to bring them to justice. Our solidarity with
the Palestinian People will remain firm and alive until the full
achievement of all their rights, including the right to return,
under international law enshrined in the resolutions of the
United Nations.
We strongly
deplore the silence in the official Durban process and documents
regarding discrimination based on work and descent, including
caste based discrimination, which affect some 260 million people
globally, especially women, violating their individual and
collective rights and dignity for generations. We call on the
United Nations and international community to support their
cause for equality and justice.
We express our
strong concern about crimes against humanity and war crimes in
Darfur with massive violations of human rights of civilian
populations, the continuing multiple, racial and discriminatory
acts and mass rapes of women. We urge the international
community to implement the relevant United Nations resolutions.
We affirm our
solidarity with all victims groups and express our concern of
over any acts of harassments and intimidation of persons and
groups combating racism and racial discrimination. We call for
the release of human rights defenders and community and
political leaders unjustly imprisoned for their engagement
against racism and racial discrimination.
We express our
determination to actively use all the relevant instruments and
mechanisms for the protection of Human Rights, especially the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination, the International Convention on the
Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of
their Families, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination of Women, the Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities, the UNESCO Convention Against
Discrimination in Education and the ILO related conventions. We
call for their speedy universal ratification.
The 2001 World
Conference Against Racism became a catalyst for networking and
activism for anti-racist movements and many victims groups. It
allowed them to take their rightful place in partnership with
the movements against war and occupation, for human rights, for
sustainable development and the quest for social justice,
believing that another world is possible and necessary.
Now is the
time for a declaration of resolve to be made by Peoples,
Governments and the United Nations to safeguard the achievements
of the World Conference Against Racism. It is time to provide
for the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme
of Action in its entirety.
We call
for Governments to decide on a 10-year Summit, a Durban +10, to
review the continued implementation of the Durban Declaration
and Programme of Action.
We
declare that irrespective of the decisions of Governments we
will join forces with all people of good will to launch our own
Durban + 10 process in solidarity with all victims groups in
order to ensure that the combat against all forms of racism and
racial discrimination is moved forward.
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