 |
Search : | ||
|
|||
News
|
News stories
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3 September 2001 by Joe Lowry in Durban The importance of fighting discrimination through the Red Cross Red Crescent's global network of millions of volunteers was stressed by Red Cross representatives attending the UN Conference on Racism, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, which opened in Durban, South Africa on August 31. In an address to the plenary session held on Monday September 3rd, Federation Vice-President Ali Bandiare noted: "Our fight against discrimination is as old as the red cross idea. It is one of our Fundamental Principles, the principle of Impartiality". "Through education and information, we fight the ignorance and intolerance that breeds racism and discrimination. Action through people helps us construct a more tolerant world," he added. "Every day, we use our vast network of volunteers to help vulnerable people," Mr. Bandiare added. Finally, he expressed the Red Cross Red Crescent commitment: "We are ready to commit and follow up the agreement we will reach at this Conference. Together, we can build and protect human dignity and tolerance". In her speech at the opening ceremonies, the acting president of the South African Red Cross Society praised the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement's "long-standing history of impartiality and standing next to the underdog" However, Mandisa Kalake-Williams also challenged the organisation to ask itself: "Are we always going to arrive with bandages, or are we going to negotiate for change?" The World Conference against racism marked, she said, "a real milestone" on the journey against discrimination and a chance to look back at the last eight years since South African independence, and take stock of what had been achieved. "We have come to the point where we can discuss racism, even hold conferences on racism, with international and NGO participation. We also have the input of ordinary citizens who can contribute without fear of reprisals." The conference would have been unthinkable 20 years ago, when South Africa maintained a regime of apartheid, which segregated races, restricting the access non-whites had to housing, jobs and even public places. This week in Durban some 14,000 delegates from governments, international organisations, NGOs and lobby groups have come together to discuss discrimination, a cornerstone of the previous regime. "This is a chance for us to do some homework" said Kalake-Williams. "I realise that about ninety per cent of the time we as an organisation deal with the symptoms and not the causes of vulnerability. This can sideline the people we call beneficiaries. When we treat someone living with AIDS we often don't know what is going through their mind, how they are dealing with stigma. "We have to ask 'who are the vulnerable?' 'Why are they vulnerable'? We must stop being reactive and step up our advocacy," she said. "That is what we can get out of this conference, and to it we can proudly say we have never been accused of taking sides. We go where the need is". The role of civil society and the NGO sector in defeating discrimination and racism was acknowledged by UN Human Rights commissioner Mary Robinson, who called on delegates to draw inspiration from the African concept of Ubuntu, which embraces humanness, caring, sharing and being in harmony with the world. "We all belong to one human family. Families do not agree on everything but they agree on certain fundamentals and that is what makes families strong", she said. In his address at the conference opening, South African President Thabo Mbeki made an eloquent plea for an end to discrimination: "We are gathered in Durban because we have understood that poverty is not a natural condition. Accordingly, it constitutes a direct attack on the human dignity of all those condemned to deprivation and who are therefore forced to beg, to steal, to prostitute themselves because they are poor, or those who resort to substance abuse to take away the pain of hunger and of despair." "We have said to ourselves that since poverty is not an act of nature but the product of human society, we must as that human society, together fight and vanquish poverty and underdevelopment." Calling for a commitment from all States to combat racism, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan also praised "the extraordinary mobilisation of civil society in the build-up to this conference. If we can leave with a call to action supported by all, we shall send a signal of hope to brave people struggling against racism all over the world." Tributes were paid to Govan Mbeki, father of South African President Thabo Mbeki, who died on the eve of the conference's opening, and flags were flown at half-mast at the conference venue. Related links Speech delivered by Federation Vice-president Ali Bandiare to the conference |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
