Entrenched harms caused by racism over generations have been magnified by COVID-19, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights tells the Human Rights Council

AFTERNOON 

12 March 2021

Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar: International Community Must Act Together to Let the Myanmar Junta Know there are Consequences for its Crimes  

The Human Rights Council this afternoon held a debate on the midterm review of the International Decade of People of African Descent.  It also concluded its interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. 

Nada Al Nashif, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, said events over the past year had heightened the urgency of action to end the scourge of racism and racial discrimination.  Two decades after the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, systemic racial discrimination continued to strangle the rights of people of African descent to equal services, quality education, decent work and the ability to fully contribute to political decision-making and development – as well as the respect they deserved, as young people and adults, from their countries' institutions and officials.  Those entrenched harms which had been done by racism over generations had now been magnified and brought into lacerating focus by COVID-19. 

Speaking as panellists were Rozena Maart, Director of the Centre for Critical Research on Race and Identity at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Alicia Quevedos Canales, Specialist on Afro-Peruvian Policies, Ministry of Culture, Peru; Pradip Pariyar, Executive Chairperson of the Samata Foundation and Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum, Peru; and Marie-Sarah Seeberger, Member of the World Jewish Congress Jewish Diplomatic Corps (France).

In the ensuing discussion, speakers said the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action had provided a key tool to combat racism.  The world had witnessed unfortunate incidents against youth from African descent, including racial profiling, police violence and extrajudicial killings, even in some of the so-called progressive and developed societies.  Last summer, as protesters of all races, ages, and backgrounds in the United States and around the world had raised their voices against the-all-too frequent occurrence of Black lives ending at the hands of law enforcement, the world had been reminded, yet again, that all must do more to address systemic racism. 

Speaking were South Africa, Brazil, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Cameroon on behalf of the Group of African States, Haiti on behalf of the Caribbean Community, Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, European Union, Argentina on behalf of a group of countries, United Nations Children’s Fund, Ghana, United States, Peru, Mauritius, Indonesia, Senegal, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mauritania, Marshall Islands, United Nations Population Fund, Sierra Leone, UN Women, Portugal, Ecuador, India and Cameroon.

The following civil society organizations also took the floor: Friends World Committee for Consultation, Sikh Human Rights Group, Action Canada for Population and Development, World Jewish Congress, International Council Supporting Fair Trial and Human Rights, and International Federation for the Protection of the Rights of Ethnic, Religious, Linguistic and Other Minorities.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Council concluded its interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.

In the discussion, speakers were appalled by the military's recent actions, including its anti-democratic coup, the conflict with its Ambassador to the United Nations, and killing dozens of peaceful protestors that yearned for democracy.  The murders that were detailed in the report were horrifying.  Speakers paid tribute to the courage of demonstrators in Myanmar who were calling for democracy, requesting the junta to hand back the power it illegally seized and immediately release all arbitrarily detained persons. 

In his concluding remarks, Thomas Andrews, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, stated that the claims of the junta that they exercised “utmost restraint” against protestors was preposterous and meant that all should disbelieve their own eyes.  Ordering killings of protestors at point blank range and occupying hospitals were not examples of “utmost restraint”.  For there to be human rights in Myanmar, the international community must act.  The regime must know that there were costs to this behaviour.  The coordinated action of nations working together in unity to cut off the junta’s financial streams and access to weapons trade was required.

Speaking were Sierra Leone, Luxembourg, Malawi, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Romania, Ireland, Czech Republic, Canada, Italy, Marshall Islands, Singapore, Mauritania, Turkey, Cambodia, Austria and Viet Nam.

The following civil society organizations also took the floor: CIVICUS - World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Physicians for Human Rights, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, Amnesty International, Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada, International Commission of Jurists, International Federation for Human Rights Leagues, Article 19 - International Centre Against Censorship, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, European Centre for Law and Justice, and Centre Européen pour le droit.

The webcast of the Human Rights Council meetings can be found here.  All meeting summaries can be found here.  Documents and reports related to the Human Rights Council’s forty-sixth regular session can be found here. 

The Council will next meet at 10 a.m. on Monday, 15 March to continue its general debate on human rights situations that require the Council’s attention.

Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar

The interactive dialogue with Thomas Andrews, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, started in a previous meeting and a summary can be found here.

Interactive Dialogue

Speakers were appalled by the military's recent actions, including its anti-democratic coup, the conflict with its Ambassador to the United Nations, and the killing of dozens of peaceful protestors that yearned for democracy.  The murders that were detailed in the report were horrifying.  Speakers paid tribute to the courage of demonstrators in Myanmar who were calling for democracy, requesting the junta to hand back the power it illegally seized and immediately release all arbitrarily detained persons.  Light must be shed on the serious crimes committed, including the genocide against the Rohingya.  The people of Myanmar had been deprived of their right to health; in times of a pandemic like COVID-19, any responsible government could not afford to paralyse the health sector.  Speakers urged respect for the democratic will of the people of Myanmar.  They further called for a thorough consideration of all available options to restore democratic processes and institutions in Myanmar and demand accountability for all human rights violations.  The action of the military had united the international community in condemnation, speakers said.

Some speakers encouraged all sides to show “restraint” to ensure prosperity in the region.  Multiple speakers noted that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations was ready to provide assistance in this regard.  At least 50 people had been killed, more than 1,000 activists and journalists had been detained, and media and Internet blackouts had been instituted - the Council must show leadership because the brave protestors needed the help of the international community to return to democracy.  Security forces were continuing their brutal assault: arresting and beating doctors and other healthcare workers, occupying hospitals and clinics, and firing live ammunition.  Military retaliation would surge unless the international community acted to halt it.  Evidence of the junta’s brutality was already being destroyed as they confiscated mobile phones.  Failure to hold the military accountable for their past crimes had created the environment for this current crisis.  How many bodies did the United Nations need to take action?  The situation must be referred to the International Criminal Court and States must sever all ties with Tatmadaw and impose an arms embargo.

Concluding Remarks

THOMAS ANDREWS, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, said he greatly appreciated the work of non-governmental organizations inside and outside of Myanmar and stressed that they needed support.  The claims of the junta that they exercised “utmost restraint” against protestors was preposterous and meant that all should disbelieve their own eyes.  Ordering the killing of protestors at point blank range and occupying hospitals were not examples of “utmost restraint”.  The junta had responded to peaceful protestors with brutality because they were caught off guard by the intensity and scale of the peaceful protests.  Speaking out was important, but only a first step.  For there to be human rights in Myanmar, the international community must act.  The regime must know that there were costs to this behaviour.  The coordinated action of nations working together in unity to cut off the junta’s financial streams and its access to weapons trade was required.  The junta had forcibly displaced thousands of ethnic minorities across the country.

Debate on the Midterm Review of the International Decade of People of African Descent

Keynote Statement

NADA AL-NASHIF, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, said events over the past year had heightened the urgency of action to end the scourge of racism and racial discrimination, which as the Secretary-General had said, violated the United Nations Charter and “debases us all as human beings”.  Two decades after the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, systemic racial discrimination continued to strangle the rights of people of African descent to equal services, quality education, decent work and the ability to fully contribute to political decision-making and development – as well as the respect they deserved, as young people and adults, from their countries' institutions and officials.  Those entrenched harms which had been done by racism over generations had now been magnified and brought into lacerating focus by COVID-19.  In fact, evidence pointed to very stark racial disparities: in the United States, infection, hospitalization and death rates amongst people of African descent were respectively triple, five times and double the rates seen amongst white Americans.  In the United Kingdom, women and men of African descent were more than four times more likely to die of COVID-19 than white people. 

Ms. Al-Nashif said there were rising racist threats, discrimination and attacks, as new movements for white supremacy – amplified by pandemic conspiracy theories – compounded the impact of older forms of bigotry.  The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination had pointed out in August that the pandemic had led to "a significant increase in stigmatisation, labelling and scapegoating – which often resulted in discriminatory acts, and even violence...  in particular against people of Asian and African descent; migrants; members of the Roma community; and those who are regarded as belonging to lower castes."  The world needed to grasp the roots of systemic racial discrimination and begin the work of deep reform that could undo generations of injustice and neglect.   In 2001, the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action had emphasised the role of youth in combatting racial discrimination.  The world needed to step up the intensity of that engagement now.  The Deputy High Commissioner said she was convinced that important United Nations initiatives to fight racism, such as the Decade for People of African Descent, could be a success only if States and the United Nations system meaningfully engaged with young women and men, and responded to their demands.

Statements by Panellists

ROZENA MAART, Director of the Centre for Critical Research on Race and Identity at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, stated that as a South African born at the Cape in District Six, which was the old slave quarter, the largest protest of young people in the country that had taken place in 1976, when she was 14 years old, had been incredibly important - more than 20,000 youth had taken to the streets to show their disapproval of Bantu and apartheid education, which taught Black people servitude and White people superiority.  Born in District Six and forcibly removed from the area when it was declared a white-only area, her life had changed when she learned of Black consciousness from Stephen Bantu Biko.  What happened on the day of the protest still happened today: the world had recently seen in the United States the extent to which police brutality tried to silence the voices of young people.  The youth of Ms. Maart’s generation had played an important part in the national liberation of South Africa.  Her enslaved background was etched in her name, Maart, the third month of the year, and her grandmother’s surname September.  It was time to remember the enormous contribution youth had made and that they continued to make.

ALICIA QUEVEDOS CANALES, Specialist on Afro-Peruvian Policies, Ministry of Culture, Peru, highlighted that in Peru, 59 per cent of Afro-descendants felt discriminated or very discriminated against, and 82 per cent believed that the principal cause for this was their skin colour.  Sadly, this reality was common across Latin America.  In Peru, most African descendants were young, meaning that they were now struggling not only with the consequence of racism but also with the pandemic, climate change, forced migration and rapid technological changes.  Ms. Canales stated that she believed the theoretical frame developed by Nancy Fraser was a way of addressing their needs.  First, it was important to recognise and fight racism openly, opening up public spaces, social media and other platforms for conversation about identity, racism, feminism and intersectionality.  Second, it was essential to redistribute resources, particularly in areas of education and job opportunities.  Third, representation was a critical dimension in the fight against racism.  In this regard, it was important to address the trap of being included in public-facing processes but not being included in decision making and public policy implementation. 

PRADIP PARIYAR, Executive Chairperson of the Samata Foundation and Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum, Nepal, said racial discrimination and caste-based discrimination were parallels.  In his part of the world, the caste was a major determinant of who a person was.  He belonged to a Dalit family - the lowest caste structure in the Hindu caste system.  He had witnessed the inhumane treatment a human could lash upon another.  Within five months of the COVID-19 lockdowns in Nepal, 23 Dalits had been murdered.  The structural discrimination had become even more explicit during COVID-19.  Dalits faced discrimination during distribution of relief materials and medical supplies.  COVID-19 measures such as isolation and social distancing had reinforced the discriminatory practice of exclusion and untouchability.  It was urgent that the post-COVID-19 recovery efforts should pay careful and special attention to ensure the most vulnerable were not left out.  Mapping and identifying the vulnerability status before making any post-COVID-19 recovery efforts was important.  No blanket approach should be applied.  Further, there was a need for a special policy that ensured the vulnerable were included in relief efforts. 

MARIE-SARAH SEEBERGER, Member of the World Jewish Congress Jewish Diplomatic Corps, France, said it came as no surprise that in societies in which Jews were not safe, other minorities were not safe either.  Several decades after the Holocaust, the lesson of ‘never again’ was going unheeded as genocide, ethnic cleansing, and discrimination continued to take place in various parts of the world.  Unfortunately, racism and anti-Semitism were as present as ever, with increasing verbal and physical attacks around the world.  Similarly, the World Jewish Congress worked closely with major social media platforms to raise awareness about hateful content and online hate.  Due to a joint effort of the World Jewish Congress and various organizations, Facebook had announced last October that it would remove Holocaust denial content from its online platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.  More recently, in the wake of the violent assault against the Capitol Hill and the recent hateful events of the last few months, the World Jewish Congress had called on all companies that operated online market places to strengthen and better enforce policies banning any product that promoted or glorified white supremacy, racism, Holocaust denial, or any other type of hate.

Discussion

Speakers, noting that the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action had provided a key tool to combat racism, said that the world had witnessed unfortunate incidents against youth of African descent, including racial profiling, police violence and extrajudicial killings, even in some of the so-called progressive and developed societies.  They asked the panellists if, three years before the end of the Decade for People of African Descent, should the international community consider a repeat of this campaign in one form or another.  It was only by mobilizing forces at all levels, including institutions, civil society and the private sector, that the world would make progress in tackling the scourge of racism in societies.  Some speakers said that children of African descent benefitted from fewer opportunities in their regions.  Children of African descent were more likely to be poor, and the patterns of inequality they faced had been exacerbated by COVID-19.  Last summer, as protesters of all races, ages, and backgrounds in the United States and around the world had raised their voices against the-all-too frequent occurrence of Black lives ending at the hands of law enforcement, the world was reminded, yet again, that all must do more to address systemic racism. 

Abuse of information technology fuelled racism, often under the pretext of the freedom of speech, and was more intense as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Statistics showed that persons of African descent were more affected by the harsh effects of climate change, natural disasters and environmental degradation.  Building forward better could only be achieved by considering the multiple and intersecting vulnerabilities and marginalising factors experienced by persons of African descent; their scale, number and degree of interrelation was high, but speakers identified multiple methods that could be used to tackle them.  Speakers were encouraged by calls for racial justice and the Black Lives Matter movement, outlining the ways in which the Decade for People of African Descent was embedded into their national policies, enriching them in the process.  The time for the formulation of standards had passed and the time for implementation was now.  Hate was moving into the mainstream: the pandemic had manifested this via the wildfire-like spread of conspiracies, anti-Semitism and increased racial discrimination. 

Concluding Remarks

ROZENA MAART, Director of the Centre for Critical Research on Race and Identity at the University of KwaZulu-Natal South Africa, said that the widespread youth protests in 2016 had sought to remove emblems and statues to remove images of colonizers that reminded youth about enslavement in South Africa.  It had also been motivated by the movement to stop the increase of fees in 2016.  Instead of listening, university management had scrambled to address the ways in which students were not “decent”.  It was heart breaking to see many people she remembered from the protests in 1976, today occupying positions of power in universities and ordering the police to shoot rubber bullets at students.  The youth were treated as enemies of the State in South Africa.  All they asked for was that education was treated as a right - exorbitant fees had to go.

ALICIA QUEVEDOS CANALES, Specialist on Afro-Peruvian Policies, Ministry of Culture, Peru, said she wanted to conclude her remarks by returning to the idea of the three paths she presented as the way forward.  Her message to the youth was that public policies with specific measurable and tangible results were needed.  She thanked the Council for the opportunity to speak at the panel.  It was important to get to the deep-rooted causes of the issue.

PRADIP PARIYAR, Executive Chairperson of the Samata Foundation and Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum, Nepal, highlighted the double discrimination faced by Dalits during the COVID-19 crisis.  Dalit lives mattered, he said.  Young people must also understand their own privilege; they should be mindful of the situation of other young people who were marginalized; and should consider class and race issues.  This would help them combat caste-based and racial discrimination.

MARIE-SARAH SEEBERGER, Member of the World Jewish Congress Jewish Diplomatic Corps, France, thanking the participants, said the Council needed to think about the way in which this conversation would continue in future years.  She encouraged discussion with minorities to combat all forms of discrimination.  Stressing the need “to work together”, she said young people must play a full role in combatting racial discrimination and encouraged the implementation of youth-led projects.

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For use of the information media; not an official record