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Articles and Postings
BEYOND WCAR
by Avvy Go
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A long time ago in a small village in China, there lived two men, Old Fool and Wise Man. Right at the beginning of the road leading to the village there was a mountain, which separated the village from the world beyond. The villagers had to either climb the mountain or go around it every time they needed to leave the village in order to do their errands elsewhere. One day, Wise Man was passing by the mountain when he saw Old Fool and his sons at the bottom of the mountain, shovelling and digging away. Wise Man asked Old Fool, "What are you doing, Old Fool?" Old Fool replied, "I am moving the mountain. I want to tear it down so that the people in this village do not have to climb over or walk around it every time we go somewhere." Hearing this, Wise Man broke out laughing. He laughed so hard as he had never heard of a more ridiculous thing in his whole life. Wise Man said, "Look, Old Fool, this mountain is SO huge. You will never be able to move it. Take my advice. Just pack up your shovel and go home." Wise Man said, "You are probably right. This is a big mountain. But if I cannot finish my job in moving it, my children can carry on the work for me. And if my children cannot move this mountain, my children's children can continue. One day, this mountain will be moved." Wise Man shook his head and walked away, as there was no point rationalizing with someone as foolish as Old Fool.
WCAR - ADVOCATES' WORSE NIGHTMARE OR OUR BEST HOPE?
The United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR) was mired in controversy right from day one.
From the very earliest of days, the United States Government threatened to pull out of the United Nations (UN) conference because the issue of reparations was included as one of the five themes of the WCAR. Fearing the WCAR's potential implications with respect to the reparation movement in the U.S. for slavery and Trans-Atlantic slave trade, the U.S. Government was desperately searching for a way out. It is no secret that if the analysis of the reparations advocates holds sway, the U.S. Government would be on the hook for an astronomically huge redress obligation, owed to its African American citizens, and potentially to many African nations. Then came the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the question of whether zionism is racism. The latter issue was quickly grabbed on by the U.S. as an excuse for it to withdraw from the WCAR altogether. [More]
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CASHRA Report
Report to Canadian Heritage concerning the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance
By Mary-Woo Sims
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On behalf of the Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies (CASHRA) and with the assistance of Canadian Heritage, I was able to attend the 3rd Preparatory Meeting in Geneva and the NGO and World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR). Aside from the agreed to objectives of CASHRA's attendance at WCAR and related activities, the views expressed in this report are those of the author and not of CASHRA.
The objectives of CASHRA's participation in were clear. First, we wanted to ensure that, where appropriate, both the draft and final programme of action would mention the role not only of national institutions, but also of 'other specialized institutions created by law' to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. Second, we wanted to ensure that if the texts had a listing of victims, the list would be open-ended enough not only to recognize past and present victims of discrimination but also to provide room to recognize new victims. Third, we wanted any mention of grounds of discrimination to be open enough to take into account any new forms of discrimination. And finally, but not least, it was important to ensure that there was some reference in the texts to the impact of intersectionality and multiple grounds of discrimination on a person. [More]
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