Tuesday, May 29
Back to the calendar
And there’s a million voices…
J'assume les raisons qui nous poussent de changer tout,
J'aimerais qu'on oublie leur couleur pour qu'ils esperent
Beaucoup de sentiments de race qui font qu'ils desesperent
Je veux les portes grandements ouvertes,
Des amis pour parler de leur peine, de leur joie
Pour qu'ils leur filent des infos qui ne divisent pas
Changer
And when a child is born into this world
It has no concept
Of the tone the skin is living in
And there's a million voices
And there's a million voices
To tell you what she should be thinking
So you better sober up for just a second
7 seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
(Neneh Cherry & Youssou N’Dour, 7 seconds)
It seems like there is a million voices in here lately too, and sometimes it gets real confusing, we all have our issues and they’re all important. But it’s not easy.
The NGO briefing started again at nine this morning. Sangoco gave a broad overview of the plans for the Conference and the setup in the conference venue’s (Kingsmead Stadium and the ICC) in Durban. Sangoco called upon all caucuses to come to a meeting at 4 pm, a meeting for people who want to volunteer in helping Sangoco dessiminate information during the conference.
News from the International Steering Commitee: a letter was sent yesterday to Mary Robinson, High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressing concern about the way the process is going and the little input the NGOs have in it, asking Mrs Robinson for a meeting to talk about this. Mrs Robinson promised to meet with them tomorrow. (Wednesday).
Everybody is real tired today. It seems that this conference is going on forever and the way it goes right now with the governmental part of it is not very encouraging. The latest news on that: tomorrow at 9 am. the governmental delegations will decide if they are going to extend the conference. The grapevine has it that they will want to add the whole next week, but that there is also opposition. We were told by a delegate member that we ‘better change our tickets’. Well, we will know tomorrow morning…
There were a lot of caucus meetings again today. Sadly, due to a few meetings of our own we had to attend, we were not able to visit any but we will be reporting on the caucus meetings again tomorrow. Especially the meetings of the Religious and Spiritual caucus is attracting our attention since we don’t hear a lot about them. We were personally invited today by La Princesse Happy du Cameroon to come to the meeting of the NGOs of Central Africa at 3.30 pm, but we also didn’t make it. Our apologies!
A press release just reached us:
May 29, 2001
Numbers of US NGOs Concerned About Government Role in World Conference Preparation Groups Call On US Government to Stop Bullying on World Stage
Concerned about the US government's threats that it will downgrade its participation in the UN World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) process if discussions of the Middle East and reparations for the Trans-Atlantic slave trade do not fit its policy interests, a number of US NGOs are asking their government to stop the threats, commit to a fully democratic process, and to reaffirm its commitment to the WCAR.
“It's a particularly ironic position for the US to take given its commitment to fully airing all positions on race, including those of racist groups,” observes legal scholar Kimberle Crenshaw, a law professor and director of the African American Policy Forum. “To suppress full discussion seems remarkably Anti-American.”
Arnoldo Garcia of the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights agrees. “The government’s position seems very disingenuous and can undermine the conference’s mandate to build strategies to end racism and xenophobia worldwide. They want to make sure they get what they want whether they have the votes or not.”
At issue are recent statements, including those in a US government “non paper”, that if discussions of reparations and Zionism are allowed to occur at the upcoming World Conference Against Racism this September, the government will significantly reduce its participation. Given the fact that the Conference is attempting to strike a delicate balance between many countries with many interests on the touchy subject of race, a number of US NGOs are calling on the government to play a more positive role.
“The Bush Administration has an opportunity to show real leadership here,” says Grace McDonough of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, a national coalition of more than 180 civil rights and social justice groups in the US. “Instead of backing away from tedious issues, the Administration should be committing to the process. They should allocate more resources and play a role in bridge building on the difficult issues.”
Recent events, including the removal of the US from the UN Human Rights Commission and US Congress' subsequent refusal to pay UN dues are contributing to the government’s negative image, says Sister Florence Deacon of Franciscans International. “It’s time for the Government to rethink the role it's playing on the world stage. Clearly, it’s time for something new.”
Deacon, who represents 1.2 million Franciscans worldwide at the United Nations, is urging people to contact their government. "Our government needs to understand how important it is that we are engaged in this World Conference Against Racism. Citizens should write their government representatives to urge full US participation." She says the new Senate leadership may provide fresh opportunities to reverse recent anti UN decisions if representatives hear from their constituents.
Resources are also an important issue as some NGOs are concerned that these most recent threats are part of a pattern of government downsizing in the human rights arena. “When you compare the resources allocated to the Beijing Women’s Conference to spending on the World Conference Against Racism, it’s unfortunate and shortsighted,” observes Rinku Sen of the Transnational Racial Justice Initiative. “The government estimates that it spent nearly 6 million dollars on the Beijing process. So far, not even one tenth of that amount has been allocated to the World Conference Against Racism. That seems to me a clear signal of the government's commitment to issues of racial justice.”
For Juana Majel, Secretary of the National Congress of American Indians and a member of the Pauma-Yuima Band of Luiseño Indians, the World Conference must be an open, democratic forum. “An agreement must be reached soon that this process, a process that is supposed to examine and address racism and injustice, must be open and participatory. Regardless of where we may be on an issue, we must support the right to have an open discussion with the fullest participation possible.”
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PLEASE NOTE THAT THE SOUTH AFRICAN FOREIGN MINISTER GAVE AN
ADDRESS AT THE GENEVA MEETING REITERATING CONCERNS ABOUT GOVERNMENT
THREATS. MORE INFO ON THIS AND OTHER WORLD CONFERENCE EVENTS IS AVAILABLE
AT WWW.ICARE.TO
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That's it for today,
I CARE Newsteam.
Quotes of the day:
We don't have to sleep together we only have to agree on issues!
I want them also to respect my issue and represent it, hey I even know men that represent women!
Some of these people should cut their toenails so you don't step on their toes so easy.
Our governmental delegation supports that. They desperately want to support something.
Contributions by others:
GUIDELINES FOR NATIONAL PLANS OF ACTION: PROPOSAL OF THE EUROPEAN CAUCUS OF NGOS
Black African Issues & the Holocaust, by Mutombo Kanyana