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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

Commonwealth Secretary-General's Statement on Racial Discrimination

21 March 2001

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. As we mark this important day, we are reminded of the ever-growing need to foster racial tolerance within our communities, our countries and the wider world. For the Commonwealth in particular, this day highlights some of the most important principles of our association: tolerance, mutual understanding and respect for diversity, be it ethnic, cultural or religious. Since the 1971 Singapore Declaration of Commonwealth Principles, we have been on record as being opposed to any form of discrimination, oppression or domination and committed to human dignity and equality.

The Commonwealth-led struggle against apartheid also strengthened our resolve to actively engage in eradicating racism and racial discrimination. In 1979, Commonwealth Heads of Government issued the Lusaka Declaration on Racism and Racial Prejudice, in which they declared their faith in the dignity and worth of the human being and identified measures to be undertaken to end apartheid and to rectify the damage it had caused.

The dismantling of apartheid was undoubtedly one of the Commonwealth's greatest triumphs. As a result, the organisation has much to share with the wider international community in the fight against racial discrimination. This struggle proved to us that the world will no longer tolerate racial injustice; that people could look past their own national and cultural boundaries and fight for what they thought was just; and that any act of racism, institutionalised or otherwise, diminishes us all.

As we enter the new millennium, with the growing advances in technology and communication, cultural, ethnic and religious cross-fertilisation is inevitable. The challenge faced by our individual societies is how to manage diversity so that all people within a given society feel safe, valued and equal, and that such diversity becomes a strength which can be harnessed for the benefit of all.


As we prepare for the World Conference on Racism in South Africa later this year, I call upon our member governments:

· if they have not already done so, to accede to the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination;
· for countries who are party to the Convention, to implement the Convention in their countries, including through:

· public information campaigns;
· enactment and enforcement of relevant legislation;
· active participation in the World Conference itself, and to help identify critical issues affecting the eradication of racial discrimination.

The Commonwealth Secretariat will continue to support the efforts of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations in general in the fight against racial discrimination and will offer all possible assistance to member states to fulfil their obligations.





01/25 21 March 2001
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ISSUED BY THE COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIVISION
Commonwealth Secretariat Marlborough House Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HX United Kingdom
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Email: info@commonwealth.int