COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS: WORKING GROUP IN CHARGE OF FORMULATING PROPOSALS FOR THE WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM STARTS ITS WORK

HR/CN/99/6
24 March 1999 (p.m.)


Working Group Elects Ambassador Diallo of Senegal as Chairperson;
High Commissioner for Human Rights Addresses Meeting


The sessional Working Group of the Commission on Human Rights, which was set up to review and formulate proposals for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, this afternoon started its work.

The Working Group elected Ambassador Absa Claude Diallo of Senegal as its Chairperson and adopted its agenda. Participants then discussed such issues on the agenda as the gathering of information for the preparation of the agenda of the World Conference; means for determining the priorities and goals of the Conference; and ways of halting the spread of racial discrimination. Financial issues were also discussed, as were the ways and means of combatting racism.

The Working Group, which will be meeting every afternoon until Friday, 26 March, noted that other issues on the agenda were the need to highlight matters related to racism, discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in public opinion, and to formulate specific recommendations.

Mary Robinson, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, addressed the Working Group, noting that the issues raised at this meeting were of fundamental importance for the universal realization of human rights and for the establishment of international security. The Commission’s first challenge would be to promote a greater sense of urgency in tackling the problem of racism worldwide with renewed political will. She noted that next year, the Commission would serve as the Preparatory Committee, leading up to the Conference itself in the year 2001.

Mrs. Robinson said the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was convinced that the more practical and concrete the approach to the World Conference was, the greater its likelihood of success would be. The Office intended to promote this practical, action-orientated focus by all possible means.

Mrs. Diallo said that the main task of the Working Group was to submit a report to the present session of the Commission on Human Rights which contained recommendations for the preparation of the World Conference and proposals concerning the function and composition of the Bureau for the first meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the Conference. She proposed that the Working Group examine each of the seven objectives contained in the pertinent resolution adopted by the General Assembly on the World Conference. On Friday afternoon, the Working Group would examine the recommendations which it would submit to the Commission on, among other things, the date and the place of the World Conference.

A Representative for the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination said the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination should be the foundation and cornerstone of the Conference. Themes to be considered at the World Conference included the prevention of racism through education and the media; exclusion and marginalization in multi-racial societies where race was largely defined by skin colour; ethnic divisions; the treatment of migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers and displaced persons; the implications of economic globalization on the achievement of racial equality worldwide; preventive measures, including early warning and urgent action procedures; combatting hate speech and hate crimes; and special measures, effective remedies and redress mechanisms. Suggestions were also made for the content of a draft Declaration and Plan of Action.

During the debate, several speakers stressed that procedural issues were as vital as substantive ones. The main objective, which was the fight against racism, could be dealt with by the preparation of a questionnaire for Governments, specialized institutions, national institutions and non-governmental organizations to gather information on objectives, measures to combat racism, obstacles and how to surmount them, and follow-up strategies. A second way could be by the establishment of an Internet site dedicated to the fight against racism. A third way would be the gathering of information. These proposals were supported by a number of the speakers.

Cuba, among other things, asked for clarification as to the budget for the Conference, as well as whether financial support would be available for Third-World countries. The United States asked for a pragmatic plan of action for all countries, both on the financial, the procedural, and the substantive levels. The usefulness of the Internet to combat racism was further stressed by many of the delegates, as was its ability to disseminate racial hatred. The importance of including all nations in preparations was also underlined, as was the need for a continuing dialogue between Governments and non-governmental organizations.

A number of countries recommended a series of actions, such as a study of the means of implementing the Convention and how to better involve the United Nations Information Centres in the dissemination of all information on discrimination. Education was seen as an important part in the campaign to implement the Convention and thus the role of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was underscored.

Representatives of the following countries took the floor: India, Turkey, Egypt, Germany, Tunisia, Italy, France, Cuba, the United States, Bangladesh, Austria, Uruguay, Switzerland, Mexico, Guatemala and the Holy See. Speakers for the non-governmental organizations Minority Rights Group and the International Association Against Torture also spoke. A member of the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities also addressed the meeting.

The Working Group will continue its work at 3 p.m. on Thursday, 25 March. The Commission on Human Rights will reconvene its plenary at 10 a.m. tomorrow and will continue its debate on organization of the work of the session and the right of peoples to self-determination and its application to peoples under colonial or alien domination or foreign occupation. It is also expected to start consideration of its agenda item concerning racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and all forms of discrimination. The Special Rapporteur on these questions, Maurice Glele-Ahanhanzo, is also expected to introduce his report to the Commission. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, India and Italy will also address the Commission.