1、Keynote Speech Delivered at the International Conference on Racial DiscriminationExcellencies Distinguished GuestsFriends all:It is a privilege for me to address you as we approach the international day for combating racial discrimination. I thank the president of the conference, Ms. Janie and my co
2、lleague members of the Working Group of Experts on racism, for this signal honor. I applaud all of you assembled here this afternoon for showing, by your presence, that you share a common concern for the creation of a world in which racism, racial discrimination, and related intolerance play no part
3、 either in our personal lives or in our international relations.Like me, you believe in the fundamental rights and freedoms. Within this context k:ntekst, racial discrimination is to be treated as abhorrent. So, I acknowledge the appropriateness proprtns of the theme chosen for this years conference
4、: “Learning from historical racial discrimination to combat racial discrimination today”. And the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination is explicit ksplst about what constitutes racial discrimination. It is,“any distinction, exclusion, restriction or prefe
5、rence based on race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition rknn, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of p
6、ublic life.”Many of us here are familiar with the major historical tragedies or inhumane nhjumen actions that have affected global history and which were related to racial or ethnic discrimination, including conquest, colonization klnzen, genocide densad against minority populations.The historical t
7、ragedies outlined are not so remote in the past that we cannot recall them. And even if we wished to forget them, our artistes, authors, activists and human rights defenders will not allow us to do so, because their artistic productions, books, advocacy and their modern-day protests over the continu
8、ed legacies lesiz of those historical wrongs, keep them in our consciousness.But friends, I do harbor some degree of anxiety: anxiety, friends, because almost 50 years after the African-American Civil Rights Movement, too many individuals, communities and societies continue to suffer from the injust
9、ices that racism brings. We still live in a world where ethnicity ensti, socially constructed race and other differences act as barriers to racial harmony. There is still a long way to go to build a more peaceful world; a world that Dr Martin Luther King, dreamed about all those years ago. He had a
10、dream that his four little children would one day live in a nation where they would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I regret to say today that his dream has not been completely realized and historical experiences continue to adversely affect our contem
11、porary world. So we will ask why, in 2015, at a time in North America, a sub region which stands as a beacon for democracydm:krsi, where there are adequate laws in place, should we wish to speak in a general way about race? We often hear, “race is no longer relevant,” “we have equality, dont we?” “i
12、ts no longer about race, its about class.” These are some of the refrains one hears when the subject of race is raised. Race discrimination is a subject on which everyone is eager to agree that yes, it is wrong, but few are willing to actively engage in further progress, or even to debate the issues
13、.To change this consequence, let us do today what we did in the past to eliminate racism form a united front comprising all nations, ethnic and religious groups to end racial discrimination and related intolerance and let us do it now in a spirit of mutual respect and tolerance, and by so dong demonstrate our commitment to the foundational principle of the inherent dignity of the human person.I thank you!rndn
