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In depth I  World Conference Against Racism - WCAR 2001 The difference between black Brazil and black U.S. Source: The Zeleza Post For a massive majority in Brazilian society, racism just doesn't exist. For many blacks, too. But, more fantastic than that: At the same time it is invisible, it is naturally practiced by the majority of the white population. And they don't even notice what they are doing. By Italo Ramos.[see more]         Correct  ADD YOUR COMMENT >> From August 31st through September 8, 2001, the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR), organized by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, was held in Durban, South Africa, with the attendance of numerous government representatives and delegates from NGOs and other organizations. Over 3,000 NGO delegates from around the world converged in Durban to make their struggles and the injustices afflicting their regions and countries known to the world. Prior to the Conference, a Youth Summit and the NGO Forum were held in the same city. Both WCAR delegates and participants at the NGO Forum faced the challenge of finding common ground on a host of sensitive issues connected with racism, racial discrimination, and xenophobia, and achieving consensus to draw up their respective Declarations and Plans of Action. Governments came face to face with a number of people who have been direct victims of racism and injustice, who did not hesitate to communicate to their delegates the pressing nature of the matters under discussion. Controversies arose throughout the Conference over how certain issues, such as the Middle East conflict, indigenous rights, and the Holocaust, were to be treated. As the event came to a close (with Israel and the United States withdrawing their delegations), a declaration was signed which evidences a general concern over human diversity, its richness, its conflicts and potential solutions. The declaration includes conclusions on each issue on the agenda, the identification of slavery and the slave trade as a "crime against humanity", and theestablishment of a programme of action adhered to by the participants. Groups that suffer racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other related forms of intolerance were also identified, including Africans and people of African descent, Asians and Asian descendants, indigenous peoples, migrants, refugees, women, children, Roma, and people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. The main issues discussed were: - Slavery and the slave trade; - Migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers; - The impact of multiple forms of discrimination against women. Gender and racism; - Discrimination on the basis of caste; - Indigenous peoples; - The withdrawal of the US and Israel. Following the Conference, several events have been organized by both the United Nations and NGOs and other organizations, with the purpose of monitoring the implementation of the resolutions adopted at Durban. Versión en español print    send   correct  ADD YOUR COMMENT >>  Official web site  NGO Forum and Youth Summit  United Nations information  Follow-up to the WCAR  Regional meetings  Housing rights  The slave trade   In-depth reports Detailed reports on key issues Durban Review Conference 2009 Conference to review progress and assess implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. Internally Displaced Persons For many, a bureaucratic term used to describe the often desperate situation that affects around 25 million people worldwide. Migrations Migratory movements have become more intense, and with them old and new human rights problems gain greater relevance. Beijing +10: Conference on Women review This global process was held in 2005 to review the implementation of the Platform for Action signed at the UN 4th World Conference on Women, in Beijing 1995. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues It promises to give indigenous peoples a unique voice within the UN system. Sexual diversity and the law Depending on where they live, LGBT people may be allowed to marry and adopt children, or be put to death. Campaigns NGO-organised actions Support the Landless Workers Movement in the struggle for agrarian reform and against monoculture eucaluptus plantations      Official web site Durban Declaration and Programme of Action Source: UNHCHR World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR) Documents, statements, parallel events, background.    NGO Forum and Youth Summit Representatives of Roma, Gypsies, Dalits, Kurds, Tamils, Tibetans, African Brazilians, Jews, Palestinians, native Americans and Australian Aborigines, and many other victim groups were present in Durban to get their message across amidst the hundreds of voices at the NGO Forum that preceded the World Conference. On August 26-27, 2001, an international Youth Summit, bringing together more than 700 youths from every region in the world and of diverse cultural, religious and political backgrounds, preceded the NGO Forum and the WCAR. NGO Forum web site Documentation, statements, programme and declarations. WCAR NGO Forum Declaration The Declaration and the Programme of Action are based on the understanding that they reflect the regional processes and that the voices of the victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance must be heard. It was a courageous attempt to unite the voices and battles of all victim groups into one document. Youth Summit Declaration and Plan of Action Adopted by youth delegates at the International Youth Summit on the occasion of the WCAR. Durban, South Africa, 26-27 August 2001.    United Nations information NGLS Roundup 82, November 2001 Source: United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS) World Conference Against Racism: "United to combat racism". Thorough report on the Conference and the issues discussed. Racism and Racial Discrimination United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) web site with exhaustive information on the World Conference against Racism, the International Convention, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, as well as documents on the Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003), along with other interesting links.    Follow-up to the WCAR In Geneva, the United Nations started its work for the year 2003 with one of the most significant tasks in the field of human rights: following up on the outcomes of the WCAR. NGOs and several networks are working on the same issue. Roundup 99, January 2003 - Racism and WCAR: Fifty-Seventh Session of the General Assembly Source: United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS) The General Assembly adopted a resolution on the struggle against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. Commission on Human Rights, Fifty-ninth session, 21 March 2003 Source: OHCHR Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and follow-up to the World Conference on Human Rights. Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance - Decision 2002/270 ECOSOC Source: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights At its 39th plenary meeting, on July 25, 2002, the Economic and Social Council, taking note of the Commission on Human Rights' resolution N° 2002/68 of April 25, 2002, approved the decision of the Commission to establish an intergovernmental working group, with the following mandate (see full text). Anti-Durban Syndrome? Source: International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR) Internal vis-à-vis inter-state (or groups of states) follow-up on the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. By Atsuko Tanaka, IMADR Representative to the United Nations, IMADR-Geneva Office. Affirmative action policies Source: Choike Regional workshop on strategies for the adoption and implementation of affirmative action policies for people of African descent from Latin America and the Caribbean (in Spanish). Workshop on affirmative action policies in Latin American and the Caribbean Source: International Council for Adult Education (ICAE) Cecilia Fernandez, Iliana Pereyra Sarti Reports from the Regional Workshop on "Strategies for the Adoption and Implementation of Policies of Affirmative Action for People of African descent of the Latin American and Caribbean regions", convened by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and held in Montevideo, Uruguay, May 7-9, 2003. Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action Source: High Commissioner on Human Rights - UNHCHR A list of the principal international and regional instruments to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. It also outlines the scope of protection against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance provided by the main international human rights instruments. Implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action Source: OHCHR It focuses on activities undertaken by States, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations bodies, specialized agencies, international and regional organizations, national human rights institutions, non-governmental organizations and youth groups and organizations to implement the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. September 2004, pdf format. Preventing racial discrimination crucial in the struggle against genocide Source: OHCHR The 67TH Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination that took place 2-19 August 2005 identified fifteen "indicators" and related follow-up procedures to help "detect and prevent at the earliest possible stage developments in racial discrimination that may lead to violent conflict and genocide." (PDF document). September 2005.    Regional meetings NGOs Forum of the Americas for Diversity and Pluralism Source: Movimientos.org Held in Quito, Ecuador, from March 13 through 16, 2001, as part of the preparatory process of the NGO World Forum and the World Conference Against Racism. Asia-Pacific NGO Movement for WCAR Web site of the Asia-Pacific NGO coordinating committee for the WCAR. NGOs meetings Source: HRI Exhaustive list of regional meetings on WCAR.    Housing rights The political relevance and the necessity to elaborate an agenda which prioritizes the demands of African descendants in defense of their territorial and cultural rights is becoming more evident every day. African descendant communities and housing rights Source: Choike The African descent population in the Americas today numbers over 140 million, one third of the continent’s 450 million people. Slavery in the Americas saw 15 million slaves violently uprooted from their lands in Africa.    The slave trade Transatlantic Slave Trade (The Slave Route) Source: UNESCO Being the first system of globalization in history, the slave trade and consequently slavery were, from the 16th to the 19th century, "the greatest tragedy in the history of humanity in terms of scale and duration", according to French historian Jean- Michel Deveau. This tragic episode in human history calls into question the cloak of silence which shrouded the subject for so many years. This UNESCO'S project has three major objectives: to break the silence surrounding the slave trade and slavery through the historical study of the causes and dynamics of the transatlantic slave trade; the clarification of the consequences and interactions resulting from the slave trade and to contribute to the establishment of a culture of tolerance and peaceful coexistence between races and peoples. 2004: Slavery Abolition Year Source: UNESCO The proclamation by the United Nations General Assembly of the year 2004 as International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition marks the bicentenary of the proclamation of the first black state, Haiti, symbol of the struggle and resistance of slaves, and triumph of the principles of liberty, equality, dignity and the rights of the individual. Exhaustive added information on history of slavery, slave trade, general history on Africa, of the Caribbean and news. The wider historical context of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade Source: Pambazuka Hakim Adi The trafficking of Africans over many centuries was one of the greatest crimes against humanity. The current commemorative events, which are organised for a variety of purposes, at least provide the opportunity for widespread discussion. What is vital is that the myths are shattered and disinformation combated. The trafficking of Africans over many centuries was one of the greatest crimes against humanity. The current commemorative events, which are organised for a variety of purposes, at least provide the opportunity for widespread discussion. What is vital is that the myths are shattered and disinformation combated. We must ensure that appropriate and adequate reparations are made for slavery, colonialism and all crimes against humanity. People themselves must draw the appropriate lessons from history, one of the most important being that it is people that make and change history; and that therefore, we are our own liberators. May 2007. Book: African Slavery in Latin America and the Caribbean Source: The Zeleza Post This is an original survey of the economic and social history of slavery of the Afro-American experience in Latin America and the Caribbean. The focus of the book is on the Portuguese, Spanish, and French-speaking regions of continental America and the Caribbean. It analyzes the latest research on urban and rural slavery and on the African and Afro-American experience under these regimes. It approaches these themes both historically and structurally. The historical section provides a detailed analysis of the evolution of slavery and forced labor systems in Europe, Africa, and America. The second half of the book looks at the type of life and culture which the salves experienced in these American regimes. 2007. The difference between black Brazil and black U.S. Source: The Zeleza Post Italo Ramos The most significant aspect to distinguish Brazilian and American racism, in its most generalized form, is the concrete nature of American racism, in contrast with the subjective character, the fluid state, the invisibility of Brazil's. The difference is that, in the US, nobody would dare to deny its existence, but in Brazil, racism is the essence of a substantive very...abstract.

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