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Vol. 13 Issue
14…Dedicated
to the Dialogue on Race…April 4, 2010
Bit of History
The World Conference
Against Racism (WCAR)
"...World
Conference has the potential to be among the most significant gatherings at the
start of this century. It can be more: it can shape and embody the spirit of
the new century, based on the shared conviction that we are all members of one
human family." Secretary-General of the Conference and High Commissioner
for Human Rights - Mary Robinson
The World Conferences against Racism (WCAR) are international events organized by the United Nation's Economic and Social Council (UNESCO) as part of the struggle against racist ideologies and behaviors. Twenty-seven (27) World Conferences against Racism have been held so far. The most well-known are those held in 1978, 1983, 2001 and 2009.
Founded after World War II and the Holocaust as a dependent body of the United Nations, UNESCO started as soon as its creation to promote scientific studies concerning ethnic groups and their diffusion in the public opinion to dispel pseudo-scientific rationalizations of racism. One of its first published works, The Race Question (1950), debunked race theories and condemned racism. In particular, it suggested we "drop the term 'race' altogether and speak of "ethnic groups." Signed by some of the leading researchers of the time in the field of psychology, biology, cultural anthropology and ethnology, it questioned the foundations of scientific racist theories which had become very popular at the turn of the 20th century, alongside eugenics. These racist theories had been a main influence of Nazi racial policies and eugenics program.
Since its creation, the UN has struggled to find measures to combat racial discrimination and ethnic violence. This commitment to human dignity and equality is reflected in its adoption of a number of resolutions, conventions and declarations. These include the Convention of the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide - 1948, the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination - 1963, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination - 1965, the designation of March 21 as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - 1966 and the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid - 1973.
These resolutions and
declarations have been accompanied by international conferences. These include
the First Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1973-1982) and the
First World Conference against Racism, which was held in
The 2001 World Conference against
Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance was held in
The 2009 World Conference Against
Racism was held in
Open Letter to: The Honorable Alex Van Meeuwen, President UN Human Rights Council (Excerpts)
Recently, Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton held a press briefing to announce that the United States
(US) was abandoning its head-in-the-sand approach to the UN Human Rights
Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR). As you know, the Bush administration
boycotted the process and did not seek membership on the council but
participated only as an observer with no voting power. Bush claimed countries
with poor human rights records dominated the council. However, slave
descendants in the United States (US) believe Bush did not want blacks to have
a legitimate platform that would cause the
Secretary of State Clinton opened her remarks with some sweeping generalizations regarding human rights. "The idea of human rights begins with a fundamental commitment to the dignity that is the birthright of every man, woman and child. ... The principle that each person possesses equal moral value is a simple, self-evident truth, but securing a world in which all can exercise the rights that are naturally theirs is an immense practical challenge."
For a fifth generation descendant
of American slavery, these words do not match the reality slave descendants
face, even if Ms. Clinton is truly sincere in her statement. First, black
people in
This section is the foundation of
discrimination against slave descendants and the underpinning of white
privilege, as well as the entitlements they enjoy. The 3/5 Compromise was the
basis for the Dred Scott (1858) decision in which Chief Justice Roger B. Taney
stated, "A black man had no rights that a white man is bound to
respect." Thus this ruling became the precedent in Plessy v
Madam Secretary boldly asserted,
"Human rights are universal, but their experience is local. This is why we
are committed to holding everyone to the same standard, including
ourselves." The "local experiences" of African Americans are
tainted by racism, de-facto segregation and discrimination which is a legacy
It was as if Secretary Clinton
was only looking outward in order to point a finger when she said, "As we
work to protect human rights at home and abroad, we remember that human rights
begin, as Eleanor Roosevelt said, "in small places close to home." So
when we work to secure human rights, we are working to protect the experiences
that make life meaningful, to preserve each person's ability to fulfill his or
her God-given potential - the potential within every person to learn, discover
and embrace the world around them...."
Mrs. Clinton seems to have forgotten that Mrs. Roosevelt lived during a time
when white men in the
Today, whites say forget about all of that, it is behind us, we are a color blind society now. However, some of the same community business leaders, politicians, preachers, teachers, women and their children who were a part of segregation and lynching are still in power. The system of legal discrimination erected during segregation was never dismantled; whites just covered it over with words like "equal opportunity employer," "fair housing" and "affirmative action." The words today are "post racial" but everyone adds, "We still have a long way to go!"
This is because
Sir, these so-called citizens are not blacks who are going to tell this story.
They are hand-picked to wave the stars and stripes at the UN. Economist Dot M.
Smith documented the relevance of the 3/5 Compromise today, so the complaints
of slave descendants are based on what is happening today not the past. Mrs.
Smith examined unemployment and median family income using US Labor Department
data. She found that the disparity between black and white unemployment and
median family income has remained remarkably stable over the last 50 years and
the gap between black and white median family incomes mimics the 3/5
Compromise. Expressed in everyday economic terms, blacks are twice as likely to
pay higher interest rates, higher rent, more for less insurance, be the last
hired and the first fried, live in a substandard red-lined community filled
with predatory businesses, liquor stores and fast food restaurants.
Obviously Sir, this situation breeds poverty, desperation and crime. Facing a
hostile criminal justice system, even though blacks are only 13% of the
Race and the Obama Administration
By Danny Glover
In 2001 I traveled to
Our participation paralleled that of the official
The 2001 Declaration expressed
powerful truths. It stated: "We acknowledge and profoundly regret the
massive human suffering and the tragic plight of millions of men, women and
children caused by slavery, the slave trade, the transatlantic slave trade,
apartheid, colonialism and genocide, and call upon States concerned to honor
the memory of the victims of past tragedies and affirm that, wherever and
whenever these occurred, they must be condemned and their recurrence
prevented." Another part declared, "We recognize the inalienable
right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to the establishment
of an independent State and we recognize the right to security for all States
in the region, including
Now, eight years later, the United Nations is convening the Durban Review
Conference in
This year we thought things would
be different. Our country has taken a huge step in our long struggle against
racism: we have elected our first African-American president. And perhaps more
important, the mobilization of people who made Barack Obama's election possible
brought more young people of color into political action, with others of
various ethnic and political backgrounds, than perhaps any campaign before. It
is a moment not to sit on our laurels; certainly, we have much farther to go.
But it is certainly a moment for our nation's political leadership to
acknowledge a new marker in the long and painful struggle for justice, and a
time to offer global leadership in the United Nations forum organized to combat
bigotry and injustice.
In an effort to address the administration's concerns, the United Nations has
released a new "outcome document," stripped of all language deemed
offensive or controversial. Yet we face the sad reality that our president, the
first African-American to lead this country, who has galvanized hope among
victims of injustice around the world and encouraged them to stand up with
dignity for their rights, has yet to indicate if he will send an official
delegation or continue to abstain from the entire process. Our historical
struggle against racism can claim great progress as a legacy of the civil
rights movement led by the likes of Fanny Lou Hamer and Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr., but this 2009 review of the 2001 Durban conference against racism should
still be a moment in which the administration of President Obama returns to the
world stage to join deliberations aimed at making even further progress against
injustice.
For twenty years, Congressman
John Conyers, dean of the Congressional Black Caucus, has annually introduced a
bill urging the
Would this United Nations conference not be exactly the right place for our new
president to show the world that his administration's commitment to
"change we can believe in" means rejecting our country's tarnished
legacy of violating international law, undermining the United Nations and using
American exceptionalism to justify walking away from the leadership
responsibility many in the world expect of the United States? To make that
change clear, wouldn't this be a great opportunity to remind the world that
even if the final document does not call out the name of every perpetrator
government, the United States at least believes that every group of victims
facing discrimination or worse based on their identity, especially the most
vulnerable, and those who are stateless and thus in need of special attention by
the international community, should be named and promised assistance?
This should be a moment for the
By John Burl Smith
The Universal Periodic Review "has great potential to promote and protect human rights in the darkest corners of the world." - Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General
Created through the UN General Assembly on March 15, 2006 by resolution 60/251, which established the Human Rights Council, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN Member States once every four years. The UPR is a State-driven process under the auspices of the Human Rights Council, which provides an opportunity for each State to declare what actions it has taken to improve the human rights situation in its country and to fulfill its human rights obligations. As one of the main features of the Council, the UPR is designed to ensure equal treatment for every country when its human rights situations are assessed.
The UPR is a cooperative process
which, by 2011, will have reviewed the human rights records of every country.
Currently, no other universal mechanism of this kind exists. The UPR is one of
the key elements of the new Council which reminds States of their
responsibility to fully respect and implement all human rights and fundamental
freedoms. The ultimate aim of this new mechanism is to improve the human rights
situation in all countries and to address human rights violations wherever they
occur.
Claire Kaplun, Public Information Officer, UN Human Rights Council, on Monday,
March 01, 2010 gave some background information about the UPR. "The
Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council is an innovative
mechanism that reviews concerned countries' obligations and commitments in the
field of human rights. All issues can be freely and publicly discussed, and the
entire meeting is webcast, and all written statements are available on the
web."
Iran, together with 15 other States (Qatar, Nicaragua, Italy, El Salvador,
Gambia, Bolivia, Fiji, San Marino, Kazakhstan, Angola, Madagascar, Iraq,
Slovenia, Egypt and Bosnia and Herzegovina), had its human rights record
reviewed at the last UPR session, which took place in Geneva from February 8-19
2010. The review is based on three documents: A national report prepared by the
State under review, a compilation of United Nations information (mainly reports
from the treaty bodies and a summary of contributions submitted by NGOs,
national human rights institutions, human rights defenders, academic
institutions and research institutes, civil society representatives, etc.
The review itself takes place
during a two-week session of the Working Group of the UPR that is composed of
the 47 Member States of the Council. 16 States are reviewed during each
session. After a presentation made by the country under review, any UN Member
State can take the floor to make a statement, ask questions and make
recommendations.
The final report - which consists of recommendations to be implemented
primarily by the State concerned - has then to be adopted by the Human Rights
Council at one of its regular sessions. States, but also NGOs, can make further
comments. Here again, the interactive dialogue is webcast and the debate is
public.
The subsequent review of States occur no later than four years afterwards and
focuses, inter alia, on the implementation of the proceeding's outcome. For
instance,
So far, 112 States have had their
human rights records examined by the UPR Working Group. In December 2011, when
the first four-year cycle ends, all UN Member States will have been reviewed
once under this mechanism. The ultimate goal of the Human Rights Council is to
promote "universal respect for the protection of all human rights and
fundamental freedoms for all without distinction of any kind and in a fair and
equal manner" and to make an actual difference on the ground of participating
States. In that sense, the Universal Periodic Review is a very positive step.
The Psychology of Racism
The following is the preamble of the American Psychological Association (APA)'s Delegation to the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR)...
We respectfully thank the Chair
of this United Nations' Plenary Session and the Conference organizers for this
invitation to address the full body of this historic conference. As
representatives of a United States Non-Government Organization, and several
International Psychological Associations, we are especially pleased to have
this opportunity to add our voice to the world-wide victims of racism.
We are members of a NGO committed to the eradication of the psychological
torture and wasted human potential resulting from the barbaric, inhumane, and
illegitimate, racist systems of human relationships. We are even more resolved
to the development of a workable, vital, and living WCAR document; a document
that reflects the legitimate concerns and human rights of hundreds of millions
of people world-wide for improving the quality of their lives by removing the
intolerable weight of racism, poverty, discrimination, and psychological
torture.
Racism in all its horrific forms is transmitted across generations and is
manifested in individual behaviors, institutional norms and practices, and
cultural values and patterns. Racism serves simultaneously both to rationalize
the hierarchical domination of one racial or ethnic group over other group(s),
and maintain psychological, social, and material advantages for the dominant
group. Both active racism and passive acceptance of race-based privilege
disrupt the mental health and psychological functioning of both victims, and
perpetrators, of racial injustice.
We strongly believe that respect for the inherent dignity and well-being of
each member of the human family is the psychological foundation of freedom,
human justice, and peace in the world. This important principle is recognized
in the United Nations Charter (1945), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1948), and every subsequent human rights declaration and convention, including
the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial
Discrimination (1965). Therefore, we urge the integration of psychological and
positive mental health concerns into the framework of WCAR as a necessary
condition for the effective implementation of remedies, and corrective and
preventive measures and strategies.
The causes of racism and related intolerance and the means for their perpetuation are complex, involving legal vulnerability and discrimination, economic and educational disadvantage, social and political marginalization, and psychological victimization. Thus, we urge governments, academic, professional, philanthropic, religious, humanitarian, professional and corporate institutions, non-governmental organization and other civil society groups, and the UN to:
Acknowledge, protect, and promote
the quality of life of victims of racism and other forms of intolerance,
especially women and children, migrants and refugees, members of multi-ethnic
states, indigenous peoples, African and African descendent peoples, victims of
disabilities, and physical and mental disorders;
Establish, endorse, and actively support financially, Institutes on Racial and
Ethnic Equity and Mental Health Promotion, at the highest levels. These
Institutes should place a high priority on research and public policy
development and the promotion of research and program development related to
tracking the effects of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related
intolerances; and the status of related racial and ethnic disparities in
social, educational, economic, political, health, and psychological statuses;
Establish programmatic support for mental health on a par with physical health
within the World Health Organization and the UN system. Give priority to
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerances as
deterrents to psychological well-being and positive health and mental health,
including discrimination in health and mental health care access and treatment,
and the lack of effective culturally competent education of medical and mental
health care providers;
Eliminate biases in research and diagnostic instruments, methods and procedures that reflect and perpetuate racial and ethnic disparities and racism in medical, psychological and psychiatric, educational, employment and other institutional assessments;
Recognize and support using the impressive wealth of existing educational curricula and resources against racism at all levels of formal education to promote understanding of human rights, especially historical and intercultural approaches developed by UNESCO.
Establish a "focal point" on racial equality based in the UN Office of the Secretary General, to oversee and monitor the integration of issues relating to racial equality into the work of all functional bodies and special mechanisms of the UN, at least equal to those provided for women and children;
Establish an "International
Research and Public Policy Institute" on the Program of Action adopted at
the WCAR to monitor and evaluate capacity building for the fulfillment of WCAR
goals.
The system of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerances is broadly entrenched and involves generationally transmitted
material deprivation and disparities, institutional arrangements and norms,
beliefs and ideologies of cultural superiority, and negative psychological
consequences for the oppressed and oppressors. Each of these dimensions of the
racism system must be addressed, if we are to reverse their influences in order
to create a more humane, just, and peaceful world.
The APA Office of Ethnic Minority
Affairs actively seeks collaboration with individuals, corporations,
foundations, universities, APA Divisions and affiliates, community
organizations, and others in sponsoring a Conversation on Psychology and
Racism. To facilitate such conversations, upon request and so long as supplies
last, OEMA will provide sponsors of such events up to 100 free copies of its
12-page brochure on "Racism and Psychology: Why we Dislike, Stereotype,
and Hate Other Groups and What to Do about It, which was written by Mark
Feinberg. OEMA also has developed an Annotated Bibliography on Psychology and
Racism. For more, see www.apa.org/pi/oema/programs/racism/index.aspx)
Disgruntled says: Let me be among the first
to say that I am delighted to learn that the
Disgruntled feels: Ironic! Given what we
know about US history of slavery, Jim Crow segregation and ongoing
institutional racism, one would expect to see any number of lawsuits filed by
black Americans to challenge the hostile work environment. Ironically, while
the Equal Employment Commission has examined countless cases and provided
litigants with right to sue letters, their cases are dismissed on
technicalities en masse in federal court. Even more ironic, the successful
employment discrimination cases have been those filed by white Americans
charging reversed discrimination.
Disgruntled wants to know: Like the
cowards we are when it comes to the issue of race and
Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes and
Telephone Calls
Email www.blackagendareport.com ...Bailout Double Standards: Black Banks/White Banks Department of Double Standards: Rep. Maxine Waters Maligned for Helping Black Banks...By Glen Ford... Every sentient being on the planet is aware of the tawdry money-lust affair between Wall Street banksters and the Bush-Obama bailout regimes. Goldman Sachs didn't miss a beat as January 20th saw one administration morph into the other, with Sachs still in the finance policy catbird seat. Rescuing the zombie bankers from catastrophe of their own making has become the national project, an open-ended transfer of vast wealth to the finance capitalist class, courtesy of purchased politicians. Conflict of interest is a dead letter, with lawless banksters empowered to dictate the terms of their own deliverance from insolvency. The biggest beneficiaries are those institutions already deemed "too big to fail" - and whose executives are far too politically wired to go to jail. But let a progressive Black congresswoman arrange a meeting in which Black bankers beseech the government for some minuscule piece of the bailout pie - and it is the stuff of scandal.
Email www.chicagotribune.com ...Fewer Black
Firefighters In The Ranks...'We are definitely moving backward'...By Cynthia Dizikes...Mark
Townsend joined the Chicago Fire Department in 1988 hoping to help pave the way
for future black firefighters in an agency long plagued by charges of racism.
But as Townsend nears retirement, he faces a troubling fact: Despite years of
diversity training and a highly publicized minority recruitment campaign, the
percentage of African-Americans in the department is shrinking.
Email www.rawstory.com ...Report:
African-Americans risk falling `deeper into poverty and despair'...By Agence
France-Presse...In Barack Obama's first year as president, African-Americans
have struggled to bridge a wide equality gap with whites, in particular in the
area of jobs. In the annual "