International Day for the Elimination
of Racial Discrimination:
21 March
“I have fought
against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I
have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all
persons live together in harmony and equal opportunity. It is an ideal
which I hope to live for and to achieve, but if need be, it is an ideal
for which I am prepared to die.”
Nelson Mandela
On this day, in
1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration
in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid “pass laws”.
Proclaiming the Day in 1966, the General Assembly called on the
international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of
racial discrimination.
Since its inception in 1945, the United Nations has stressed the need for
the protection and promotion of fundamental freedom and human rights for
everyone, irrespective of race, colour or creed and these principles are
enshrined in the UN human rights instruments including the Universal
Declaration for Human Rights and the various covenants and conventions.
Studies and reports of the UN had highlighted racial discrimination as a
worldwide problem and, to specifically address this issue, in 1963 the UN
adopted the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and
subsequently, the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms
of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) in 1965.
Since 1973, the United Nations’ General Assembly has designated three
decades of action to combat racism and racial discrimination. The UN has
also organised two World Conferences Against Racism in 1978 and 1983.
These conferences primarily focused on apartheid. But the scourge of
racism continues to plague all societies.