13 - 19 September 2001
Issue No.551
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 13 - 19 September 2001 Issue No.551 |
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Selected paragraphs from documents adopted by the WCAR
MIDDLE EAST: We recall that the Holocaust must never be forgotten. We also recognise with deep concern the increase in anti- Semitism and Islamophobia in various part of the world, as well as the emergence of racial and violent movements based on racism and discriminatory ideas against Jewish, Muslim and Arab communities. -- We are concerned about the plight of the Palestinian people under foreign occupation. We recognise the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self- determination and to the establishment of an independent state and we recognise the right to security for all states in the region, including Israel, and call upon all states to support the peace process and bring it an early conclusion. We recognise the right of the refugees to return voluntarily to their homes and properties in dignity and safety, and urge all states to facilitate such return.
SLAVERY AND COLONIALISM: We acknowledge that slavery and the slave trade, including the trans-Atlantic slave trade, were appalling tragedies in the history of humanity not only because of their abhorrent barbarism but also in terms of their magnitude, organised nature and especially their negation of the essence of victims, and further acknowledge that slavery and the slave trade are a crime against humanity and should always have been so, especially the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and are among the major sources and manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and that Africans and people of African descent, Asians and people of Asian descent and indigenous peoples were victims of these acts and continue to be victims of their consequences. -- The World Conference, aware of the moral obligation on the part of all concerned States, calls on these states to take appropriate and effective measures to halt and reverse the lasting consequences of those practices. -- The World Conference recognises that these historical injustices have undeniably contributed top poverty, underdevelopment, marginalisation, social exclusion, economic disparities, instability and insecurity that affect many people in different parts of the world, in particular in developing countries. The World Conference recognises the need to develop programmes for the social and economic development of these societies and the Diaspora within the framework of a new partnership based on the spirit of solidarity and mutual respect.
Victims: For the purpose of the present Declaration and Programme of Action, the victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance are individuals or groups of individuals who are or have been negatively affected by, subjected to, or targets of these scourges.
MIGRANTS: We call upon all states to review and, where necessary, revises any immigration policies which are inconsistent with international human rights instruments, with a view to elimination all discriminatory policies and practices against migrants, including Asians and people of Asian descent.
WOMEN: We recognise the need to develop a more systematic and consistent approach to evaluating and monitoring racial discrimination against women, as ell as the disadvantages, obstacles and difficulties women face in the full exercise and enjoyment of their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights because of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
HIV/AIDS: We note with deep concern the fact that, in many countries, people infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, as well as those who are presumed to be infected, belong to groups vulnerable to racism,. racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, which has a negative impact and impedes their access to health care and medication.
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