United Nations Conference

2001 was an important year for anti-racism. The United Nations declared it the UN International Year of Mobilization Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. In addition to this year, the United Nations had previously announced that this was the Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1994-2003). This global momentum led to the organization of the United Nations' third World Conference Against Racism (previous conferences were held in 1978 and 1983).

The World Conference Against Racism (WCAR), held in Durban, South Africa last summer, left many questions in its wake, particularly regarding the efforts taken to mobilize the international community. We do not endeavour to answer these questions here, but we do hope to highlight, very briefly, some of the outcomes of the three primary events - the International Youth Summit, NGO Forum, and UN-intergovernmental meetings or WCAR.

Four youth delegates representing the United Nations Association in Canada (UNA-Canada) travelled to Durban: Sebastian Margarit, Rida Abboud, Ian Foucher, and Christine Parsons. Our objectives were to represent and share with anti-racism colleagues from around the world UNA-Canada's Youth Forums Against Racism (YFAR) project; promote the recommendations of young people from this country, voiced through YFAR and the Canadian Government's National Youth Forum; and observe the events in order to report back to Canadians upon return.

The International Youth Summit was the first international youth event on the issue of racism to be recognized by the United Nations. The purpose of the Summit was to produce a Youth Declaration and Plan of Action, which can be read at www.hri.ca/racism/youth. UNA-Canada was actively involved in the International Youth Summit. We lobbied for inclusion of a paragraph on peer education, an issue which arose as a priority concern at both UNA-Canada's forums and the Canadian Government's National Youth Forum, but was previously unaddressed in the Summit's documents.

As the Summit progressed, the establishment of a global youth network for combating racism became a key priority. It would serve to coordinate some of the ongoing youth initiatives being undertaken around the world and monitor the implementation of the WCAR Declaration and Programme of Action. The Global Youth Network Against Racism is to be based on four regional bodies representing Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas. A Canadian youth delegate, Léonie Tchatat, has been appointed to the Americas regional body.

Upon conclusion of the Summit, our attention shifted to the NGO Forum. The Forum was a key event at which to promote the YFAR project, voice youth recommendations and positions, and network with other youth-oriented organizations and delegates. We hosted an exhibition booth and conducted a workshop to present the YFAR project in detail, focusing on the process used to engage youth, as well as discussing challenges, successes, and lessons learned with the workshop's participants.

The NGO Forum was meant to provide a space where the voices of victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance could be heard - and indeed recorded in the Forum's Declaration and Programme of Action. As we have stated elsewhere, UNA-Canada supports the principle behind this process, but condemns the use of language in parts of the NGO documents that is anti-Semitic, distorted, and inflammatory, as well as actions which exclude or silence any group. (These documents, as well as numerous NGO statements on the Forum, can be read at www.hri.ca/racism/major.)

After intensive and often difficult deliberations on a number of issues, governments at the UN's third World Conference Against Racism adopted a Declaration and Programme of Action on 8 September 2001 (see www.unhchr.ch/html/racism). Governments agreed to declare slavery a crime against humanity, and in the conference's final hours consensus was reached on language referring to issues arising from the Middle East conflict. The documents recognize the need to enhance anti-racism education and to involve youth in the development of national and international policies to fight racism.

UNA-Canada believes that the documents now need to be reinforced through implementation by - and in - signatory countries, including Canada. We are committed to ensuring the establishment of 'Durban+5' process that would review and assess implementation of the historic blueprint for action agreed in Durban, South Africa on September 8. NGO organizing for such a process has already begun in Canada.

For more information, please refer to UNA-Canada's public statements on the World Conference Against Racism:

Peace is in your hands!!!