人权理事会举行有关世界各地种族歧视情况的年度辩论（部分翻译）

人权理事会
下午

2015年3月20日

辩论重点关注从历史悲剧中吸取经验以用于打击今天的种族歧视现象

人权理事会今天下午举行了有关世界各地种族歧视情况的年度辩论，重点关注“从历史悲剧中吸取经验以用于打击今天的种族歧视现象”。

人权理事会主席约阿希姆·卢埃克（Joachim Rücker）在介绍辩论及其主题时表示，由于今年是二战胜利七十五周年，这一辩论具有特别重要的意义。谬见与误解，歧视和缺乏社会同情是造成这种悲剧的原因。

人权高专办研究和发展权利司司长简·康纳斯（Jane Connors）表示，自《消除一切形式种族歧视公约》通过以来，许多方面都取得了进步。基于种族的歧视和仇外心理则在世界各地都存在。确保根植于种族主义的过去恐怖不涉足当今和未来世界是我们每个人的集体责任。

法国司法部长克里斯汀·陶比拉（Christiane Taubira）表示，种族歧视应该激发人们回顾历史，分析使人类形成和滋长优越感的意识形态。今天，当提及种族群体时，注意语言的使用是十分必要的。获得知识和教育是解放的前提，欧洲从启蒙时代便开始传承这种精神。

良心遗址国际联盟主席杜杜·迪耶（Doudou Diène）表示，由于严重的身份危机，对种族主义及其政治利益的知识合法化正逐渐普遍。发生改变的原因是那些曾作为受害者的少数群体希望走出阴影。因此，通过法律和正义加强法律框架，解决种族主义的根源问题，重新审视不仅传递知识，更是传递价值的教育至关重要。

泽兰省档案馆馆长约翰纳·库尔-布洛克兰（Johanna Kool-Blokland）表示，泽兰省档案馆的主要目标是确保有关跨大西洋奴隶贸易相关的文件和数字记录的持续可用性以便所有人都能学习其中的经验。今天，跨大西洋奴隶贸易已成为荷兰泽兰省许多小学和中学的课程内容并成为荷兰历史国家标准的一部分。

联合国教科文组织文化间对话部部长阿里·穆萨·伊叶（Ali Moussa Iyé）表示，非洲人和非洲裔人受到了基于非洲从未对人类进步做出贡献，且非洲的贫困便是他们无法创造和创新的明证等观点的偏见。联合国教科文组织已推出了多个旨在消除生物学种族主义和表现不同文化对人类进步贡献的项目。

发言者在随后进行的讨论中表达了他们对种族主义、仇外心理和种族歧视仍在世界各地发生的担忧，并一致同意学习过去悲剧的经验对打击和预防今天的这种现象的重要性。因此，历史教育和人权教育对促进宽容的文化十分重要。发言者强调了《德班宣言和行动纲领》和非洲裔人十年的重要贡献，并呼吁对《消除种族歧视公约》的普遍批准。

在讨论中发言的有阿尔及利亚代表非洲集团，厄瓜多尔代表拉美和加勒比国家共同体，欧盟，巴西，埃及，巴林，葡萄牙，摩洛哥，加纳，瑞典，吉布提，伊朗，塞拉利昂，纳米比亚，斯洛文尼亚，南非，德国，智利，希腊，哥斯达黎加，拉脱维亚，荷兰，泰国，加蓬，委内瑞拉，中国，俄罗斯联邦和古巴。

南美印第安人理事会，联合国观察，世界犹太人大会，国际青年和学生拥护联合国运动，反对一切形式歧视和种族主义国际运动，亚述人全球联盟美洲分会和美国人权网络也在讨论中发言。

理事会将于3月23日星期一上午9点再次召开会议，届时将与加沙冲突调查委员会和巴勒斯坦被占领土人权状况问题特别报告员举行互动对话。理事会还将举行有关高级专员和秘书长报告的一般性辩论，以及有关跟进和落实《维也纳宣言和行动纲领》的一般性辩论。 

开场致辞

人权理事会主席约阿希姆·卢埃克表示，此次辩论是消除种族歧视国际日纪念活动的一部分，辩论将重点关注“从历史悲剧中吸取经验以用于打击今天的种族歧视现象”。由于今年是德国侵略引发的第二次世界大战胜利七十五周年，这一主题是十分及时的。谬见与误解，歧视和缺乏社会同情是造成这种悲剧的原因。

人权高专办研究和发展权利司司长简·康纳斯回顾道，于1960年在当时南非德兰士瓦发生的沙佩维尔大屠杀造成了数十名和平示威者被杀，数百人受伤，联合国大会因此宣布将3月21日定为消除种族歧视国际日。今年是《消除一切形式种族歧视公约》通过五十周年纪念，该公约体现了缔约国“采取一切必要措施，迅速消除一切形式的种族歧视及其表现，预防和打击种族主义学说和做法，以促进种族之间的理解和建设一个免受各种形式的种族隔离和歧视的国际社会”的决心。五十年之后的今天，许多方面都取得了进步。许多国家都引入了打击种族歧视的国家立法和政策，并建立了援助受害者和提供其他补救措施的机构。包括消除种族歧视委员会在内的联合国人权机制、种族主义问题特别报告员和《德班宣言和行动纲领》在打击种族歧视方面发挥了重要作用。

虽然各方作出了众多努力，基于种族的歧视和仇外心理则在世界各地都存在。种族歧视常常与各种其他形式的歧视互相交织，包括对妇女和女童的歧视和基于残疾和年龄的歧视等。人权高专办鼓励各国不加保留地普遍批准《消除一切形式的种族歧视公约》，并与人权机制进行合作。确保奴役、种族灭绝、大屠杀、种族隔离和种族清洗等根植于种族主义的过去恐怖不涉足当今和未来世界是我们每个人的集体责任。所有形式的种族主义和种族歧视，即使是以非暴力的形式出现时，都会对人类尊严和人权的享有产生负面影响，因此是不能被容忍的。康纳斯女士强调了重温历史以铭记过去悲剧的重要性，以及人权教育和对文化多样性尊重和敏感的教育的重要性。本次讨论之所以选择这一主题是因为大家都知道回顾和学习过去的经验能促进公民参与、批判性思考和讨论。这还有助于所有人理解历史和今天面临的挑战。

Statements by the Moderator and Panellists

CHRISTIANE TAUBIRA, Minister of Justice of France, said she believed that the elimination of any discrimination, including racial discrimination, rested on the ability to accept others and see value in them. Genocide, slavery and other forms of violence rested on the denial of humanity. Racial discrimination should inspire humans to look back in time and analyse ideologies that turned human beings into things and that fostered a sense of inferiority. Systems of domination were maintained on the basis of pseudo doctrines in order to exclude others. The cases of exclusion, destruction and extermination should serve as lessons to tap into ignorance and prejudices. Science taught everyone that the colour of the skin did not constitute a basis for establishing differences among humans. Today when references were made to racial groups, it was necessary to be mindful of the use of language. In 1948 when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted, the need to recognize equality among human beings was taken into consideration, relying on the lessons from the Second World War. In that period, it was recognized that lasting peace had to be built on the basis of understanding, giving rise to the European project. The European project was created on the understanding that all people were equal. Each country expressed enshrined lessons learned from the Second World War in their national laws and constitutions. France built its institutional system on the principle of the equality of people, resting on the ideals of the French Revolution. Access to knowledge and education was the precondition for emancipation, and Europe inherited that spirit from the age of enlightenment. Shared values permeated Europe and the world, and that was something that people needed to reconnect with: the spirit of empathy towards others. Today such a view of humanity was called into question, which required both structural responses and social solidarity. The United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provided the foundation for a universal society free of discrimination of all forms. France would next month begin its work on the elimination of all forms of discrimination, relying among other things on discussions with international civil society organizations, which were very important in monitoring Governments’ policies. France had armed itself to address that task through various legislation, and President François Holland had announced that the fight against racism and all forms of discrimination would be a national priority in 2015.

DOUDOU DIÈNE, Chair of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, opened his statement by quoting German poet Bertold Brecht, who had said, following the Holocaust, that “the belly is still fertile from which the foul beast sprang.” This paradigm was still very powerful and relevant. The intellectual legitimization of racism and its political exploitation was on the rise. The racist process began by weakening the victims and denying their humanity, then their social and political marginalization, and finally, their physical destruction. There were seeing the final stage. There were two possible readings behind the resurgence of racism. The first was that racism was an inevitable reality that could not be combatted: this was what the racist ideology wanted the world to think. The “clash of civilizations” was an example of this intellectual ideology, and it was dangerous. The other reading was that the surge of racism was the result of an extremely important phenomenon which had to be identified, because it was positive. Behind the surge of racism there was a big identity crisis. All ideas based on race, religion, and belief were now being troubled by the resurgence of diversity and pluralism. The strength of pluralism and diversity meant that new identities were emerging and these were multiple, marked by diversity. They were seeing the birth of new identities, and they needed to identify what was blocking these changes and act on them, by promoting diversity, and by finding the root causes of this resurgence. The changes of identity affected all societies. They needed to identify the resistance to change and fight it.

Changes took place because minorities who had been victims wanted to emerge from the shadows, from the historical silence, and from the political and social invisibility. It was their fight that led to this so-called crisis. There were three ways to fight discrimination. First, it was very important to strengthen legal instruments through law and justice. Second, they had to consider racism as an iceberg, and get to its underlying causes. Elie Wiesel had said that execution always killed twice, the second time by silence. The idea of memory had to be rethought: the memory of the Holocaust was important, but they had to get to the memory of the values underlying this phenomenon. Third, education needed to be rethought by not only conveying knowledge but conveying values.

JOHANNA KOOL-BLOKLAND, Director of the Zeeland Archives, said that the Archives aimed to enable historical learning by using archives in social media, and then showed a film to illustrate one such project. The Zeeland Archive was the primary archival institution for the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands. Its main goal was to create sustained accessibility of paper and digital records, and it hosted the archives of the Middelburg Commerce Company established in 1720 and specialized in the trans-Atlantic or triangular trade, which provided a detailed overview of eighteenth century slave trade and provided a rare insight into the daily life of slave traders and their human cargo. Everyone should be able to learn what triangular trade was, and in order to let the silent witnesses speak, the Archives had designed a blog and an educational website which showcased the trans-Atlantic slave trade from the perspective of one slave voyage, namely the third voyage of the ship The Unity, which had taken place from 1761 to 1763, which could be followed day-by-day. The educational website contained many so-called “twenty-first century skills and competencies”, such as independent learning, information and communication technologies-literacy, critical thinking and problem solving, and aimed to teach students how to interpret and use archival documents in combination with new media. So far, 50,000 unique visitors had visited the blog and had the opportunity to see that slave trade had indeed happened, and that it was the truth, albeit an inconvenient truth. Ten years ago, one teacher and his students had visited the exhibition; today, the trans-Atlantic slave trade was on the curriculum of many primary and secondary schools in the province of Zeeland, and had been entered into the National Canon of Dutch History.

ALI MOUSSA IYÉ, Chief of the Intercultural Dialogue Section at the Division of Cultural Policies and Intercultural Dialogue at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, spoke about the lessons learned from historical tragedies and their use in the fight against racial discrimination today. This was of particular importance now that the United Nations had launched the Decade of Persons of African Descent (2015-2024). Africans and persons of African descent faced triple denial: denial of their humanity while in slavery; denial of their history, due to constant prejudice that Africa had no civilisation and culture; and denial of their citizenship rights through marginalization and social, political and cultural discrimination. More than any other human community, persons of African descent were victims of stigmatization. Prejudices against Africans and persons of African descent were based on the following thinking: the belief that Africa had never contributed to human progress, and that poverty in Africa was proof of their inability to create and innovate. Such thinking led to two types of racism: biological racism based on the theory of inequality of races, and cultural racism which highlighted the inequality of cultures and civilizations. It was against such ideologies that UNESCO had launched several big programmes. It had launched a scientific programme to dismantle biological racism, and a programme called the Project of General and Regional Histories, which aimed to show the contribution of different civilizations to human progress. Other programmes included collections of traditional world music, different international instruments for the protection and promotion of cultural heritage, the project of slave routes launched in 1994, which aimed to interrupt silence on that subject, and the project of international coalition of cities against racism launched in 2004. UNESCO also supported projects that aimed to collect archives on slavery. UNESCO would also like to launch a joint programme with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to better effect the Decade of Persons of African Descent.

Discussion

Algeria, speaking on behalf of the African Group, said that the tragedy of slavery went back six centuries and was linked with colonialism and racial supremacy, while the impact of trans-Atlantic slave trade was being felt even today, with descendants suffering terrible forms of racial discrimination. Ecuador, speaking on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, said that the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action indicated that it was possible to learn from history; slavery and trans-Atlantic slave trade were among the worst forms of crimes against humanity, and a permanent monument in remembrance of the victims of slavery should be erected in front of the United Nations headquarters. The world must act decisively to combat racism, racial discrimination and related intolerance, said the European Union, calling for stronger mobilization of civil society and far more decisive actions by Governments to fully implement their human rights obligations and commitments. Brazil said that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and the outcomes of the Durban Review Conference were landmarks of the international struggle for equality and a world free from discrimination based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin. Egypt said that different forms of racism and racial discrimination remained a source of deep concern, and, noting the recent example from Ferguson, the United States, said that decisive legal and institutional measures were needed, including prohibition of racial profiling by police.

Closing Remarks by the Minister of Justice of France

CHRISTIANE TAUBIRA, Minister of Justice of France, thanked all the participants for taking the time to listen to her remarks. She had been delighted to speak before the Human Rights Council and would take note of the statements after she left. The Durban Conference on Persons of African Descent also needed to be taken into account. More action was needed: there was ongoing poverty and exclusion in various parts of the world. Artistic cultural heritage also needed to be rediscovered from pre-slavery times, when religion, language and various artistic expressions emerged. These generations had shaped the world and they had a responsibility to discover them. Was the world capable of building a new utopia and new ideas for future generations? This was not easy, there was no manual for doing it. Brazil was one of the most linguistic components of the continent. Citing the Brazilian Ambassador to the United Nations, she stated that it was through their footsteps that they could build new ideas.

Discussion

Bahrain said racial discrimination occurred everywhere and every day, and that education was a great tool to tackle its root causes. Bahrain underlined the importance of promoting dialogue and tolerance. Portugal remained alarmed at the persistence of racism and xenophobia in all parts of the world, and welcomed the sharing of good practices to combat this. Portugal’s policies on the integration of migrants had been referred to by many international mechanisms as a good practice. Morocco said no one had a monopoly on history but it was necessary to have a model on education and combatting racism. Promoting tolerance was important to counter radicalism and racism. Morocco underlined the importance of teaching the history of slavery. Ghana said its constitution guaranteed equality and condemned racial discrimination. Ghana noted with disappointment the rise of racism against persons of African descent in many countries and called on all countries to address this. Sweden said learning of historical tragedies was key to combat racism today, and said that it had undertaken far-reaching measures to combat racism but still faced challenges. Djibouti underlined the importance of learning lessons from past tragedies to enable the creation of a collective future. It was important that a central place was given to education and that the provisions of the Durban Declaration and Plan of Action were implemented. Iran said there was a prevalence of insults against people of Asian and African descent motivated by racism or religious affiliation, including attacks against Muslims in different European countries. Such attacks emanated from propagation of racial and anti-Islam hate in some quarters of Western media and political parties.

Indian Council of South America said none of the instruments of the Durban Review Conference had done anything to soothe the plight of indigenous peoples. What could be done to address cases such as those in Alaska, where the Supreme Court ruled that the land was meant for the white race? United Nations Watch called the attention of the panel to Islamist attacks on Jewish communities across Europe, namely in France, Belgium and Denmark. Given the spread of such attacks and ideologies that motivated them, United Nations Watch wondered why the Human Rights Council had not passed a resolution to address that situation. World Jewish Congress said that Jewish minorities were still being attacked and that Jew hatred was still alive and kicking. However, other minorities were not safe either. Anti-Semitism was a reflection of all that was ill and broken in a society.
Sierra Leone stated that between 1750 and 1800, Bunce Island had been a major operation of slavery and a strategic point in the Atlantic slave trade. Bunce Island had to be preserved as it was an important historical site of the slave trade. Namibia stated that this commemoration coincided with the twenty-fifth anniversary of Namibia’s independence from the apartheid regime. Prior to independence, students had been learning only the history of the colonizers which brought distortion and falsification of historic facts. Slovenia was committed to combatting discrimination on all grounds. Effective human rights education and training encouraged a culture of peace and non-discrimination, respect and tolerance. South Africa said history should be taught in its proper context and tolerance and respect for diversity should be the intrinsic value for humanity in the twenty-first century. The world was witnessing resurgent forms of racism and intolerance. Germany said that changing laws was one thing but changing peoples’ minds was another. Germany was committed to the cause of human rights education against racism. Chile had established laws to combat discrimination, especially in reference to indigenous peoples. Racial language during football matches had to be targeted.

Greece underlined the importance of remembering the massacre of Sharpeville in South Africa, which occurred only 55 years ago. The fight against racism everywhere remained unfortunately highly relevant, and was considered a priority by Greece. Costa Rica quoted Nelson Mandela’s intervention before the United Nations General Assembly, and presented Costa Rica’s national policy against racism. Costa Rica underlined the important role of and support by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Latvia said it had always condemned, as a multicultural country, any expression of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia. The school curriculum preserved teachings on slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. Netherlands strongly condemned all forms of intolerance and stressed the need to prevent racism and xenophobia. The use of archives, historical research and other educational activities were a constructive and powerful way to fight racial discrimination. Thailand reiterated its commitment to working closely with the international community to combat racial discrimination. The Internet nowadays was used to propagate hate speech and racist ideas. It was crucial to teach about past tragedies and human rights and to promote a culture of peace and tolerance. Gabon said it was hard to imagine that the phenomena of racism and intolerance still prospered in society, at a time when cultures were more and more interconnected. Gabon agreed that it was important to teach history to build cultures of tolerance.

International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations said that there was no doubt that racism and racial discrimination were rooted in the division of the world that was created by the transatlantic slave trade, slavery and colonialism. International Movement against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism said that many minorities and indigenous communities in the world continued to face racial discrimination. States needed to recognize historical tragedies and promote fact-based teachings to eliminate racial discrimination. AUA Americas Chapter Inc. noted that thousands of Assyrian Christians in the Middle East were displaced and killed simply because they belonged to a different ethnicity and religion. The Iraqi Government was urged to recognize the Assyrians as the indigenous peoples of the country.
Venezuela warned that there was an upsurge of xenophobic and racist acts due to new information technologies. There was also systematic discrimination against migrants. International instruments had to be used to take adequate actions to fight racial, ethnic, xenophobic and other forms of discrimination. China said that despite a lot of progress, the international community still had a lot to do to eliminate racism. In some Western countries, persons of Asian descent faced different forms of racism and discrimination. Russian Federation said the rise of racism was due to economic and social problems, but also to forgetting the past. Some 70 years ago the international community received a message that the ideology of the supremacy of one race over others was dead. That message should always be remembered and history lessons remembered. Cuba said that there was a need to recognize slavery and the trans-Atlantic slave trade as crimes against humanity, and to give reparations to the victims. Cyberspace was being used to promote superiority and ideas based on racial discrimination.
United States Human Rights Network said that race disparities existed in almost all spheres of life. The killings of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Tamir Rice represented a small sample of black people who lost their lives to police violence.
Concluding Remarks

DOUDOU DIÈNE, Chair of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, said that they were living at an extremely important moment. One of the major weapons of racism was to say that discrimination could not be fought effectively. They needed to recognize the resurgence of racist violence, partly because minority victims were unable to fight back through law and justice; they needed help. There was a need to look into the underlying reasons for this resurgence. The ideas of multi-culturalism had to be spread and converted into inter culturalism and promote interaction.

JOHANNA KOOL-BLOKLAND, Director of the Zeeland Archives, said that many had emphasized education as very important. This was one of the means in breaking ongoing denial of discrimination. Among the best practices in the Netherlands were the annual commemorations on ending slavery. It was important for people to be able to talk about it. Another activity was the freedom awards which were a legacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Freedom from fear, freedom from want, freedom for religion, and freedom for speech were basic grounds to make a better world. Archives played a big role in this.

ALI MOUSSA IYÉ, Chief of the Intercultural Dialogue Section, Division of Cultural Policies and Intercultural Dialogue of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, said that all participants had stressed the importance of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Emphasis had also been made on the role of teaching of history and on the need to improve education. The ethical progress of humanity was not linear. There could be retrograde steps under certain circumstances. When it came to combatting racism, this was an unfinished business and it would never be finished. Ethical and political vigilance was very important. Questions were also asked regarding the good practices that could inform public policy practices to combat racism. They needed to look at how to write history. They needed to disarm history from the trend of fostering discrimination and learn how to write stories in an inclusive way. UNESCO had done this based on regional and national histories, and what each civilization could bring into the general progress of humanity.
______________

For use of the information media; not an official record
Follow UNIS Geneva on: Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube |Flickr