21th March 2007: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Message from Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, 21 March 2007: On this twenty-first of March, we celebrate International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, established by the United Nations in 1966 in the wake of the Sharpsville massacre in South Africa.

This day reminds us that we all have a responsibility to prevent and combat racism and discrimination putting at the service of the discriminated and excluded all the normative instruments that the international community has created in this regard. The United Nations Charter states that all persons are entitled to enjoy human rights and fundamental freedoms without distinction of colour, sex, language or religion. International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination provides us with an occasion to reaffirm these rights and freedoms so that all citizens can live in dignity, equality and peace.

Today, racism is an evil that affects all our societies, without exception, threatening peace, cohesion and stability.

Despite the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa more than ten years ago and the end of segregationist policies in many other countries, racism and discrimination remain pervasive. Millions of men, women and children continue to suffer exclusion and prejudice because of their colour, ethnic origin, religion or social status.

The memory of the tragic consequences, generation after generation, of past injustice has not faded with time, given that discrimination, in its many different forms, still affects the rights and dignity not only of many individuals, but also of entire communities. We are witness every day to the practices of ethnic segregation and racism on the Internet, as well as the growing stigmatization of minorities, indigenous peoples and migrant workers.

We call on all parts of society everywhere – public authorities, the private sector, religious and community leaders, teachers, artists, sportsmen and women, and all those who wish to show their commitment and their solidarity – to commemorate this day through events that will raise awareness about the dangers of racial discrimination. I invite all those who can to participate in this celebration to exchange experiences and express support for victims everywhere of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance.

To this end, among other long-standing efforts, UNESCO has launched a large-scale project to create an International Coalition of Cities against Racism and Discrimination, in partnership with major networks of public and private partners involved in the fight against discrimination.

By joining our forces together in a comprehensive effort we will be able to combat racial discrimination at the root, where it thrives on stereotypes and ignorance.