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05 July 2000
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Warsaw, 5 July 2000
Message of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Mary Robinson
The Regional Seminar of Experts for Central and Eastern European States on
A The Protection of Minorities and Other Vulnerable Groups and Strengthening Human Rights Capacity at the National Level
World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination,
Xenophobia and Related Intolerance
Excellencies, distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen:
The World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, to be held in South Africa in September, 2001, will register, at the start of this century, humanity's determination to achieve a world of equality in law and in fact, of human dignity, and of universal respect for all without discrimination on grounds of race, gender, nationality, social origin, or birth. If the twenty-first century is to be the century of human rights then it is absolutely vital that the battle for equality be won across the globe. The success of the World Conference is in the hands of all of us, experts, non-governmental organizations, governments, teachers, publicists, the media, and the public at large. I should like to use this occasion to call for a global mobilisation of conscience in favour of the eradication of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
The protection of minorities and other vulnerable groups and the strengthening of national capacity for their protection have been on the agenda of the international community for nearly a century now. It is worth recalling the minority protection system of the League of Nations, which was anchored in the foundation principle of equality of treatment in law and in fact for persons belonging to minorities. The jurisprudence of the World Court solidified the principle of equality as a fundamental tenet of contemporary international law.
Following its establishment the United Nations declared the protection of minorities to be one of the central purposes of its human rights programme. The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, The International Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, the International Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers, and norms on the human rights of indigenous populations, all have in view the principle of equal treatment of human beings in law and in fact and the need to ensure its application.
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, and regional instruments of the OSCE and the Council of Europe, have sought to undergird the legal protection of minorities and vulnerable groups. Their faithful implementation, in letter and in spirit, remains a key challenge before us.
Successive Decades for action to combat racism and racial discrimination have had in view the protection of minorities and other vulnerable groups. The first World Conference to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1978) urged all States to abolish and prohibit any discrimination among their citizens on the ground of their ethnic or national origin and to protect and promote the human rights of persons belonging to national and ethnic minorities.
The Conference recommended that States adopt specific measures in the economic, social, educational, and cultural fields and in the matter of civil and political rights, in order that all persons may enjoy legal and factual equality and that discrimination between majorities and minorities be eliminated.
The Conference urged States to recognize a list of specific rights of indigenous populations. These included the right to carry on within their areas of settlement their traditional structure of economy and way of life, to maintain and use their own language, to receive education and information in their own language, and to disseminate information regarding their needs and problems. The Conference called on States receiving migrant workers to eliminate all discriminatory practices against such workers and their families by giving them treatment no less favourable than that accorded to their own nationals.
The second World Conference, in 1983, recognized that throughout the various regions of the world there is a diversity of peoples, cultures, traditions and religions that encompassed, in many instances, various minority groups. It declared that there was a need for constant effort and continued vigilance on the part of all Governments to avoid any form of racial discrimination based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin.
The Conference specifically underlined that national and local institutions, as adapted to the needs and conditions of each country, can play an important role in the promotion and protection of human rights, in the prevention of discrimination and the protection of the rights of persons belonging to national and ethnic minorities, of indigenous populations and of refugees. The Conference reiterated and expanded upon the recommendations of the earlier, first, World Conference.
As you set about your deliberations you will no doubt wish to review these recommendations and to build on them. You would also wish to take account of the deliberations of United Nations and other organs in the intervening period. You have before you the reports of many of these organs as well as ten expert papers commissioned for your meeting. In addition you have the papers submitted by non-governmental organizations.
As you proceed with your deliberations I would invite you to consider questions such as the following, with a view to formulating assessments or recommendations for consideration at the World Conference:
A. A Vision of the Unity of the Human Family : Following the first mapping of the human genome, how can we instil in every child, every human being, a sense of the oneness of the human family so that each person can have a sense of belonging to the whole and none would feel excluded?
B. Inclusive National Identities : How can every country in the world revisit and recast its vision of a national identity that embraces and encompasses all parts or groups of the population, that gives to everyone a stake in the future of her or his country?
C. Combatting Discrimination through Promotion and Protection of Human Rights : How can we spread the implementation of human rights across the globe so that the practice of rights, economic, social and cultural, and civil and political, can foster cultures of respect and tolerance, in the framework of fundamental human rights?
D. Combatting Discrimination through The Advancement of Economic and Social Justice : How can we eliminate disparities in access to economic and social opportunities and thereby eliminate root causes of prejudice and discrimination?
E. Internal Self-Monitoring : How can each country establish institutions to monitor itself to detect potential problems and head them off before they deteriorate?
F. Preventive Regimes : How can we act more effectively to prevent discrimination and other violations of human rights?
G. Education : How can we use the opportunities provided by modern means of communication and information to spread the messages of the oneness of humankind, of respect, tolerance, good-neighbourliness? How can we instil a universal culture of human rights?
H. Institutions : How can we develop the role of institutions nationally, regionally and internationally to guard against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance?
I. New Problems Encountered by Minorities, Indigenous Populations, Migrants : What are the contemporary problems faced by minorities, indigenous populations and migrants, and what can one recommend for consideration by the World Conference next year?
J. Central and East European Dimensions : What insights would you wish to place before the World Conference about Central and East European dimensions of the issues under discussion, and what positive forms of action would you wish to identify for consideration by the World Conference: positive experiences that it can commend to other regions of the world?
As you reflect on these and related questions and issues, I send you my very best wishes for a successful expert meeting.
Message of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Mary Robinson
The Regional Seminar of Experts for Central and Eastern European States on
A The Protection of Minorities and Other Vulnerable Groups and Strengthening Human Rights Capacity at the National Level
World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination,
Xenophobia and Related Intolerance
Excellencies, distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen:
The World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, to be held in South Africa in September, 2001, will register, at the start of this century, humanity's determination to achieve a world of equality in law and in fact, of human dignity, and of universal respect for all without discrimination on grounds of race, gender, nationality, social origin, or birth. If the twenty-first century is to be the century of human rights then it is absolutely vital that the battle for equality be won across the globe. The success of the World Conference is in the hands of all of us, experts, non-governmental organizations, governments, teachers, publicists, the media, and the public at large. I should like to use this occasion to call for a global mobilisation of conscience in favour of the eradication of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
The protection of minorities and other vulnerable groups and the strengthening of national capacity for their protection have been on the agenda of the international community for nearly a century now. It is worth recalling the minority protection system of the League of Nations, which was anchored in the foundation principle of equality of treatment in law and in fact for persons belonging to minorities. The jurisprudence of the World Court solidified the principle of equality as a fundamental tenet of contemporary international law.
Following its establishment the United Nations declared the protection of minorities to be one of the central purposes of its human rights programme. The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, The International Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, the International Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers, and norms on the human rights of indigenous populations, all have in view the principle of equal treatment of human beings in law and in fact and the need to ensure its application.
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, and regional instruments of the OSCE and the Council of Europe, have sought to undergird the legal protection of minorities and vulnerable groups. Their faithful implementation, in letter and in spirit, remains a key challenge before us.
Successive Decades for action to combat racism and racial discrimination have had in view the protection of minorities and other vulnerable groups. The first World Conference to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1978) urged all States to abolish and prohibit any discrimination among their citizens on the ground of their ethnic or national origin and to protect and promote the human rights of persons belonging to national and ethnic minorities.
The Conference recommended that States adopt specific measures in the economic, social, educational, and cultural fields and in the matter of civil and political rights, in order that all persons may enjoy legal and factual equality and that discrimination between majorities and minorities be eliminated.
The Conference urged States to recognize a list of specific rights of indigenous populations. These included the right to carry on within their areas of settlement their traditional structure of economy and way of life, to maintain and use their own language, to receive education and information in their own language, and to disseminate information regarding their needs and problems. The Conference called on States receiving migrant workers to eliminate all discriminatory practices against such workers and their families by giving them treatment no less favourable than that accorded to their own nationals.
The second World Conference, in 1983, recognized that throughout the various regions of the world there is a diversity of peoples, cultures, traditions and religions that encompassed, in many instances, various minority groups. It declared that there was a need for constant effort and continued vigilance on the part of all Governments to avoid any form of racial discrimination based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin.
The Conference specifically underlined that national and local institutions, as adapted to the needs and conditions of each country, can play an important role in the promotion and protection of human rights, in the prevention of discrimination and the protection of the rights of persons belonging to national and ethnic minorities, of indigenous populations and of refugees. The Conference reiterated and expanded upon the recommendations of the earlier, first, World Conference.
As you set about your deliberations you will no doubt wish to review these recommendations and to build on them. You would also wish to take account of the deliberations of United Nations and other organs in the intervening period. You have before you the reports of many of these organs as well as ten expert papers commissioned for your meeting. In addition you have the papers submitted by non-governmental organizations.
As you proceed with your deliberations I would invite you to consider questions such as the following, with a view to formulating assessments or recommendations for consideration at the World Conference:
A. A Vision of the Unity of the Human Family : Following the first mapping of the human genome, how can we instil in every child, every human being, a sense of the oneness of the human family so that each person can have a sense of belonging to the whole and none would feel excluded?
B. Inclusive National Identities : How can every country in the world revisit and recast its vision of a national identity that embraces and encompasses all parts or groups of the population, that gives to everyone a stake in the future of her or his country?
C. Combatting Discrimination through Promotion and Protection of Human Rights : How can we spread the implementation of human rights across the globe so that the practice of rights, economic, social and cultural, and civil and political, can foster cultures of respect and tolerance, in the framework of fundamental human rights?
D. Combatting Discrimination through The Advancement of Economic and Social Justice : How can we eliminate disparities in access to economic and social opportunities and thereby eliminate root causes of prejudice and discrimination?
E. Internal Self-Monitoring : How can each country establish institutions to monitor itself to detect potential problems and head them off before they deteriorate?
F. Preventive Regimes : How can we act more effectively to prevent discrimination and other violations of human rights?
G. Education : How can we use the opportunities provided by modern means of communication and information to spread the messages of the oneness of humankind, of respect, tolerance, good-neighbourliness? How can we instil a universal culture of human rights?
H. Institutions : How can we develop the role of institutions nationally, regionally and internationally to guard against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance?
I. New Problems Encountered by Minorities, Indigenous Populations, Migrants : What are the contemporary problems faced by minorities, indigenous populations and migrants, and what can one recommend for consideration by the World Conference next year?
J. Central and East European Dimensions : What insights would you wish to place before the World Conference about Central and East European dimensions of the issues under discussion, and what positive forms of action would you wish to identify for consideration by the World Conference: positive experiences that it can commend to other regions of the world?
As you reflect on these and related questions and issues, I send you my very best wishes for a successful expert meeting.