Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, March 19:

The United Nations is gearing up to celebrate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21. In a statement, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that "although the principle of non-discrimination has been established as one of the foundations of international law, the persistence of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance demonstrates the need to look for new ways to address this age-old problem."The International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination comes soon after the 64th session of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination concluded its session in Geneva on March 12, 2004. According to the United Nations Information Centre statement issued today, the committee hoped the United Nations would focus its effort on making the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination universal through the accession of all its member states.

Nations have pledged to make sure that no racial discrimination against individuals, groups or institutions occurs, not to sponsor or defend racial discrimination by persons or individuals, to review government, national and local policies, and law or regulation which perpetuates racial discrimination.

Annan has said, "Tolerance, inter-cultural dialogue and respect for diversity are more essential in a world where people are becoming more closely interconnected," adding, "Racism is also among the root causes of genocide. Racist practices, ideologies and dehumanising public discourse that denies whole groups of people their dignity and rights must be condemned. We must stren-gthen our capacity for early warning and prevention of genocide, mass murder, ethnic cleansing and comparable crimes, and support efforts at bringing perpetrators to justice through the International Court.”