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World Conference against Racism
he mission statement of the Nongovernmental Organiza- tions Forum of the United Nations World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance, held 28 August to 1 September 2001 in Durban, South Africa, opens With a dire assessment of the current state of race relations and asserts that an urgent need exists for steps to be taken towards racial reconciliation. It states unequivocally: ‘‘The last century has witnessed the most severe, serious, and devastating expressions of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance. . .. Racism is still With us in varying forms and degrees and it is in fact gaining more ground as the process of globalization unfolds. This Third World Conference on racism, racial discrim— ination, xenophobia, and related intolerance is another attempt to contain and address this evil reality.”1 The NGO Forum was one of three events, along With the governmental conference and a student summit, related to the UN’s World Conference against Racism (WCAR). The events gathered some 2,300 representatives from 163 countries, including 16 heads of state, 58 foreign ministers, and 44 ministers, as well as nearly
1 The mission statement of the NGO Forum is available at <Www.racism.0rg.za/ mission.html>.
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4,000 representatives of nongovernmental organizations, to discuss these serious issues. Following similar conferences in 1978 and 1983, the latest WCAR was meant to create resolutions in the form of two documents: a declaration and a plan of action. The Conference itself was, however, fraught with challenges, revealing the complexity of the issues involved and the sensitivity with which they must be addressed in order for meaningful change to occur.
The possibility of requiring reparations for the past practice of slavery and the degree to which the conflict in the Middle East can be related to racism were both sources of heated disagreements. Strained political debates over these and related issues caused the withdrawal of Israel’s delegation from the Conference and the early exit of the United States government representatives.
The NGO Forum stood as the voice of civil society at the Conference, with nongovernmental organizations representing a host of interests and agendas. The Baha’i International Community (BIC) was one of nearly 2,000 NGOs present at the Forum, which was composed of “caucuses” of different interest groups.
The Baha’i International Community’s delegation participated in both the Religious and Spiritual Caucus and the International NGO Caucus. The BIC also set up an exhibition booth at the NGO Forum and distributed copies of the publication “One Same
Substance: Building a Global Culture of Racial Unity,” Which
Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, w/ao served as Secretary—Geneml 0f the UN} \Vorld Conference against Racism, speaking at t/ve Confirmce.
WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM 127
provides an outline of the efforts of Baha’l’s around the world to realize this teaching of Baha’u’llah:
Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat With the same mouth, and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest.2
Despite its problems, the WCAR had high aims that, in many ways, mirror those of Baha’u’llah’s Vision. In her address to the Conference’s Preparatory Committee on 1 May 2000, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Secretary— General of the World Conference against Racism Mary Robinson acknowledged the potential of the event, saying it could “shape and embody the spirit of the new century, based on the shared conviction that we are all members of one human family. The challenge is there to make this Conference a landmark in the struggle to eradicate all forms of racism.” Pointing out the wrongs of inequality and identifying them as a major source of social upheaval, she Characterized the fight against racism as an act of prevention that serves to reduce racial and ethnic tensions and the conflicts they engender.
“If the World Conference is to make a difference,” she said, “it must not only raise awareness about the scourge of racism, but it must lead to positive actions at the national, regional, and international levels that can bring relief to those Who bear the brunt of racism and racial discrimination. This is a subject that requires firmness of resolve, disciplined and persistent action, and clear—sighted thinking.”
The Baha’i community works to pursue those goals. Indeed, during more than 50 years of collaboration between the Baha’i International Community and the United Nations, Baha’l’s have supported many UN resolutions that have promoted the under— standing of equality. For example, the BIC supported the UN
2 Baha’u’llah, The Hidden LVom's ofBa/yd’u’lla’ly (Wilmette: Baha’i Publishing Trust, 1994), Arabic no. 68, p. 20.
128 THE BAHA’I’ WORLD 2001—2002
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an African American, a Maori, a Spanish Roma, and an Iranian.
Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and the 1965 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and it participated in and made statements to the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna.
Baha’i communities around the world are dedicated to making oneness a reality, and this was evident in the diversity of the Baha’i delegation to the World Conference against Racism, which included an Afro—Brazilian, a member of the Kikuyu tribe of Kenya, an African American, a Maori, a Spanish Roma, and an Iranian. They served as a small sample of the worldwide Baha’i community, which has members from more than 2,100 ethnic groups and tribal backgrounds in more than 230 countries and territories.
Diane ‘Alzi’l’, who works for the Baha’i International Com— munity’s United Nations Office in Geneva and headed the Baha’i International Community’s delegation to the WCAR, was nominated as an alternate head of the International NGO Caucus and as the cochair 0f the Religious and Spiritual Caucus.
[Page 129]
WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM 129
South African Bahé’r’s
The Baha’l’s of South Africa were also represented at the NGO Forum. The secretary of the country’s National Spiritual Assembly represented the Baha’i community in the South African National Religious Leaders Forum and was selected to represent the NRLF at the WCAR.
In South Africa, Baha’is are especially sensitive to the divisive influence of racism. For the more than 50 years of apartheid, they dealt With laws that made the practicing their ideal of racial harmony not only difficult but also illegal. Throughout those years, however, the Baha’i community remained unswervingly committed to maintaining an integrated community.
The Baha’i community in South Africa has been integrated since the Faith’s establishment in that country in 1911. Because of apartheid-era laws against integrated public meetings, the Baha’is held administrative and devotional meetings in their homes. The National Spiritual Assembly of South Africa, first elected in 1956, had five black and four white members, an extremely rare degree of racial integration for any national organization at the time. When apartheid made the integration of national bodies illegal, it was the white members who forfeited their membership on the Assembly.
In 1997, while many other religious communities through- out South Africa offered apologies to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for their practices under apartheid, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of South Africa issued a statement that summarized the important place of racial integration in Baha’i belief. It gave a summary of the endurance of the Baha’i community during the apartheid years and explained that, despite difficulty and harsh legislation, the Baha’is clung to the ideals of their Faith.
Of the 10,000 people in the South African Baha’i community today, more than 90 percent would have been classified as “non— White” under apartheid laws. Members come from nearly all the tribal and ethnic groups in the country. And although many of those groups, such as the Zulu and Xhosa tribes, are in conflict with one another, tribal members are united in their beliefs as Baha’is.
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130 THE BAHA’I’ WORLD 2001—2002
Preparations for the WCAR
Around the world, Baha’is were also involved in preparations for the Conference. In Brazil, where almost half the population is of African descent, the national Baha’i community was recognized by its government as being at the forefront of racial issues. At the invitation of the country’s government, the Brazilian Baha’i community sent a delegation to the Preparatory Conference for the WCAR held in Geneva 21 May though 1 June 2000.
Shortly after the end of the WCAR, Baha’l’s in Brazil met with government officials of their country to assist with setting up a special commission on race relations. The commission was estab— lished on 12 September and the Baha’is requested that the President of Brazil hold a national seminar on racism, a suggestion that was approved by the Secretary—General of the President’s office; the Baha’i community was later asked to join the preparatory committee for the UN conference.
Unfortunately, Baha’is were debarred from participating in another preparatory conference in Tehran, Iran, in February, as the Iranian government refused to accept the application of the Baha’i delegates. In spite of the fact that the Baha’l’s met all admin— istrative and procedural requirements and included a letter of accreditation from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in their applications, the BIC delegates were not permitted to attend. Ms. Robinson publicly expressed her dismay at the exclu— sion of the Baha’i International Community from the meeting.
Declarations
The government leaders’ conference ended with the representatives agreeing on an international action plan that offered condemnation of racism, xenophobia, and intolerance in all forms and a call for concrete actions on behalf of the international community to eliminate these forces. While some countries expressed reservations about the text of the final document, more than 160 nations that attended the conference finally agreed to the action plan. In the end, it took the addition of a day to the original program for participants to produce a document that all would endorse.
WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM 131
A key aspect of the governments’ resolution is the statement that slavery is and always has been a crime against humanity. The text expresses regret over the human suffering caused by the practice, which is referred to as a “historical injustice” which “undeniably contributed to poverty, underdevelopment, marginalization, social exclusion, economic disparities, instability, and insecurity Which affects many people in different parts of the world...”
The text further specifies actions in areas such as debt relief, poverty eradication, building or strengthening democratic institutions, promotion of foreign direct investment, market access, agriculture and food security, technology transfer, health, education, and the “facilitation of welcomed return and resettlement of the descendants of enslaved Africans.” The program of action also includes calls for all nations to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) by 2005.
At the conference’s conclusion, Ms. Robinson said, “Many questioned Whether it would be possible to reach consensus, but we have succeeded and that is no small achievement. We now have a series of concrete recommendations—for national plans and programs, for better treatment of Victims, for tougher antidiscrimination legislation and administrative measures, for universal ratification and implementation of ICERD and other relevant international treaties, for strengthening education (a most important area), for improving the remedies and recourses avail— able to Victims, and many more.”
The NGO Forum, meanwhile, issued a 9,000—Word declaration that included almost entirely the positions of the various caucuses due to the NGO Forum’s International Steering Committee’s decision to include language from all of the groups. The declaration is somewhat convoluted and sometimes contradictory as a result, but it reflects the diversity of Views at the Forum.
In addition to the declaration issued by the Forum, the Baha’i International Community also issued a statement to the conference that outlined the Baha’i perspective on racial relations and the need for harmony among the people of earth.3
3 For the full text of this statement, see pp. 273—78.
132 THE BAHA’I’ WORLD 2001—2002
Conclusion
The BIC delegations head, Ms. ‘Ala’i’, saw the results of the conference as a positive, if not final, step. “In the past,” she said, “people had a tendency to View racism through their own eyes. And many equated racism with just the problem between blacks and Whites. But this conference, because of the diversity of issues addressed and the Wide range of delegations among the NGOs, raised awareness that racism is multifaceted in its scope. It gave voice to some of the previously voiceless groups, like the Roma. It drew attention to the fact that slavery is still practiced in some countries at the beginning of the let century. And it also showed how racism and religious intolerance and various forms of xenophobia cannot be dissociated from each other.”
Despite the adoption of the action plan by the WCAR, many problems remain. The attitudes and practices that necessitated the conference itelf have been, in most cases, entrenched for generations. But the conference was a positive step towards acknowledgement of the problems and Will lead, eventually, to their eradication.
