The World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and related intolerance officially opens in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday.
Vice President George Kunda who was expected to deliver a key-note address during the official opening of the summit will be represented by Justice Deputy Minister, Todd Chilembo.
Zambia’s Ambassador to Switzerland, Darlington Mwape,told ZANIS that Zambia will take an active role in the summit debates aimed at abating racism the world over.
Mr. Mwape who is also Zambia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations said the Zambian delegation which arrived on April 14 is actively involved in the preparatory conference meetings.
He said he had no doubt the delegation in collaboration with delegates from the other countries will do a commendable job.
The Conference will review progress and assess the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA).
Adopted by consensus at the 2001 World Conference against Racism (WCAR) in Durban, South Africa, the DDPA is a comprehensive, action-oriented document that proposes concrete measures to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
DDPA embodies the firm commitment of the international community to tackle racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance at national, regional and international level.
It reasserts the principles of equality and non-discrimination as core human rights, thus transforming .
The DDPA also calls for active involvement of the international and non-governmental organisations, political parties, national human rights institutions, the private sector, the media and civil society at large.
It also calls for the universal ratification of the international Convention on the elimination of All forms of Racial Discrimination and its effective implementation by State Parties to the Convention.
Specific recommendations are formulated to combat discrimination against Africans and persons of African descent, Asians and persons of Asian descent, indigenous peoples, migrants, refugees, minorities, the Roma and other groups.
The DDPA emphasises the importance of preventive and concerted action, especially in the field of education and awareness-raising, and calls for the strengthening of human rights education.
It outlines measures to address discrimination in the fields of employment, health, policing and education and also calls on states to adopt policies and programmes to counter incitement to racial hatred in the media, including the internet.
The DDPA further acknowledges that slavery and the slave trade are crimes against humanity and should have always been so. It expresses regret over the fact that the slave trade and colonialism contributed to lasting social and economic inequalities.
Concerning the Middle East, the DDPA expresses concern about the plight of the Palestine people under foreign occupation and recognises the inalienable right of the Palestine people to self-determination and the right to an independent state.
ZANIS/VH/MKM/ENDS
Wow! i have never heard of such a conference before…it will be interesting to hear the deliberations.
Another pointless conference where people will sit down and have endless discussions and at the end of it all nothing will change. Racism, xenophobia and discrimination are bred in environments where ignorance and inequality is rife. When people are going through problems they always scapegoat their issues to someone thats an outsider to the inherent community. The racists are not waiting for a conference to tell them they are doing wrong . If equality and justice for all mankind was put into their curriculum from your a young age we wouldn’t have as much problems as we have now.
Wow, look at that picture. Is that mob going to attend the Conference? Please fly them to Geneva and let them take part. Racial Discrimination is everywhere and the worst of it all is the discrimination that occurs within the same race.
# Jamaco, those are black South Africans chasing their fellows blacks who come from countries north of their land… Believe it or not.. And thy kill…..a very sad state of affair/matter….
#4 Thenjiwe Stevens (Mrs)
I heard about that. Very sad indeed. And we call each other brothers and sisters. What a shame
Its great to see Zambia being present and actively participating in such a conference.
By the way guys have you read the post, VJ is going to monitor elections in South Africa. there is something i keep on seeing whenever he is invited. In Zambia the ruling party keeps on winning, in Zimbabwe when he was called, the ruling party won, Now its South Africa, Would this mean ANC is winning the election?does it mean Jacob Zuma becomes president?am not saying if Zuma wins the the elections would have been rigged,he could win due to his popularity? am just thinking is he going there just to mere monitor the elections or his going there on stand by.is just coincidence that such keeps on happening aint it?
why go to Geneva when racism is very rife in Zambia, lets deal with it here before we start yapping at Geneva