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COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION EXCHANGES VIEWS WITH THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON RACISM
01 March 2004
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01.03.2004
Special Rapporteur Speaks about his Visit to Guyana
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was this morning briefed by Doudou Diène, the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, on his work and his visit to Guyana.
Mr. Diène underscored the importance of the mandates of both the Committee and the Special Rapporteur and the need for there to be complementarity between the two. He said the Committee was the first body that the Special Rapporteur turned to for information. He informed the Committee that he had visited several countries, among them Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, Colombia and Côte d’Ivoire.
Mr. Diène said that he had informed both the Commission on Human Rights and the General Assembly on his strategies to combat racism and xenophobia and shared them with the Committee. The first was a political and legal strategy and the second was an intellectual and ethical strategy. In many countries where racial discrimination existed and where political and legal measures had been taken up to tackle the problem of racism, there still remained an upsurge of racist acts. In South Africa, for example, a member of the national rugby team had refused to share a room with a black player on his team.
Concerning the visit he made in July 2003 to Guyana, a country whose reports to the Committee were overdue, the Rapporteur said the United Nations considered that country to be an urgent case. He said Guyana was a case where an extreme division of racism was reflected in politics as the political parties were divided around ethnic dimensions. This polarization had resulted in political violence and had also been reflected in housing issues.
Mr. Diène reported that the authorities in Guyana had been very cooperative with him and that he had met with members of the Government. He also met with representatives of civil society and non-governmental organizations. He noted that racial and ethnic polarization was deeply rooted in Guyana and was acknowledged by almost everyone. There was a polarization of political parties in Guyana with both Afro-Guyanese and Indian ethnicities represented.
His visit had coincided with the publishing of a joint communique by the Government on the subject of racial discrimination. The communique had provided mechanisms to deal with the issue from an economic and developmental perspective. Mr. Diène noted that much of the reason why the society in Guyana was marred with discrimination was due to the fact that it had a past in slavery.
In conclusion, Mr. Diène expressed his support for the ongoing political movement in Guyana. He recommended that the case of ethnic and racial discrimination should be addressed and radically revised and that all institutions in the country should provide a multi-ethnic identity. He also recommended that Guyana become a voluntary multi-ethnic State that promoted mutual equality including at the levels of education and communication.
The President of the Committee, Mario Jorge Yutsis, said that the Committee should pursue the complementarity between the Special Rapporteur and the Committee as highlighted by Mr. Diène and which was supported by other Committee members. Other Experts noted that the Special Rapporteur was an important source of information on the conditions of racial discrimination, particularly in developing countries. They thanked him for his invaluable contribution to the Committee’s work.
A member of the Committee noted the need to focus on the role of political parties, the media and the private sector when looking into racial discrimination. The Special Rapporteur said the media played a crucial role in strengthening and exacerbating polarization and had a strong role to play in changing perceptions. He added that the media was a major cultural player and that he always made the point of meeting with members of the media whenever he visited countries.
In response to a question, the Special Rapporteur said the issue of racial discrimination had been much more sensitive since the attacks of 11 September 2001.
Mr. Diène said he intended to deal in the future with the subjects of castes, racism in sport and urgent cases of violent racism in Russia.
Special Rapporteur Speaks about his Visit to Guyana
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was this morning briefed by Doudou Diène, the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, on his work and his visit to Guyana.
Mr. Diène underscored the importance of the mandates of both the Committee and the Special Rapporteur and the need for there to be complementarity between the two. He said the Committee was the first body that the Special Rapporteur turned to for information. He informed the Committee that he had visited several countries, among them Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, Colombia and Côte d’Ivoire.
Mr. Diène said that he had informed both the Commission on Human Rights and the General Assembly on his strategies to combat racism and xenophobia and shared them with the Committee. The first was a political and legal strategy and the second was an intellectual and ethical strategy. In many countries where racial discrimination existed and where political and legal measures had been taken up to tackle the problem of racism, there still remained an upsurge of racist acts. In South Africa, for example, a member of the national rugby team had refused to share a room with a black player on his team.
Concerning the visit he made in July 2003 to Guyana, a country whose reports to the Committee were overdue, the Rapporteur said the United Nations considered that country to be an urgent case. He said Guyana was a case where an extreme division of racism was reflected in politics as the political parties were divided around ethnic dimensions. This polarization had resulted in political violence and had also been reflected in housing issues.
Mr. Diène reported that the authorities in Guyana had been very cooperative with him and that he had met with members of the Government. He also met with representatives of civil society and non-governmental organizations. He noted that racial and ethnic polarization was deeply rooted in Guyana and was acknowledged by almost everyone. There was a polarization of political parties in Guyana with both Afro-Guyanese and Indian ethnicities represented.
His visit had coincided with the publishing of a joint communique by the Government on the subject of racial discrimination. The communique had provided mechanisms to deal with the issue from an economic and developmental perspective. Mr. Diène noted that much of the reason why the society in Guyana was marred with discrimination was due to the fact that it had a past in slavery.
In conclusion, Mr. Diène expressed his support for the ongoing political movement in Guyana. He recommended that the case of ethnic and racial discrimination should be addressed and radically revised and that all institutions in the country should provide a multi-ethnic identity. He also recommended that Guyana become a voluntary multi-ethnic State that promoted mutual equality including at the levels of education and communication.
The President of the Committee, Mario Jorge Yutsis, said that the Committee should pursue the complementarity between the Special Rapporteur and the Committee as highlighted by Mr. Diène and which was supported by other Committee members. Other Experts noted that the Special Rapporteur was an important source of information on the conditions of racial discrimination, particularly in developing countries. They thanked him for his invaluable contribution to the Committee’s work.
A member of the Committee noted the need to focus on the role of political parties, the media and the private sector when looking into racial discrimination. The Special Rapporteur said the media played a crucial role in strengthening and exacerbating polarization and had a strong role to play in changing perceptions. He added that the media was a major cultural player and that he always made the point of meeting with members of the media whenever he visited countries.
In response to a question, the Special Rapporteur said the issue of racial discrimination had been much more sensitive since the attacks of 11 September 2001.
Mr. Diène said he intended to deal in the future with the subjects of castes, racism in sport and urgent cases of violent racism in Russia.
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