NATIONAL 3 -(Spotlight Weekly)

Caught In Controversies

Although plagued by contentions and altercations, the UN-sponsored world conference on racism ended with a message of harmony

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

First, the Indians wanted the caste issue off the agenda, saying it was a purely domestic social issue. Then, the Israelis were peeved by attempts to equate Zionism with racism. Officials from the United States and Israel walked out of the conference midway to protest against the attempt to demonize Israel. But most contentious among all the issues was the one on slavery, which triggered fierce debates and intense negotiations. The conference was hardly a smooth affair. It went on for an extra day to reach agreement on a consensus declaration.

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While African countries wanted Western countries, which benefited from the practice of slavery, to tender an explicit apology and even forward compensation, the latter opposed, fearing that could unleash the floodgates of lawsuits demanding the same. The final declaration toned down the differences and declared "slavery and the slave trade are a crime against humanity and should always have been so".

Indians lobbied hard and succeeded in putting the issue of caste off the conference’s agenda despite the efforts of Dalits (untouchables) and other rights organizations to equate India’s caste-based discrimination with racism.

The final text of the conference also succeeded in soothing the jittery nerves of Israelis by toning down the section that dealt with the Middle East — the subject that was in the center of the debate right through the conference.

In the end, the conference — as the Kenyan mediator in the talks, Amina Mohamed, was quoted to have said by the Associated Press — came up with the document that was "far from satisfactory, is terribly imperfect, but that provides a basis to build on".

Nepal, too, had sent a big delegation to the Durban conference, including representatives of the government as well as the non-governmental organizations (NGO). "Although, it will be difficult to pinpoint how Nepal can benefit from the conference itself, it will definitely help receive the positive messages from the meet. It is great that issues like racism, discrimination and other rights abuses were discussed in such a big international gathering," said an NGO activist.

Krishna Pahadi, President of Human Rights and Peace Society (HURPES) was more emphatic. ìIn the context of the conferenceís significance to South Asian region, we are disappointed that the issue of caste-based discrimination and oppression of Dalits were sidelined,î he said.

Besides, the fact that the conference was held in South Africa, a country reeling under apartheid until fairly recently, speaks volumes about the sea change the world is witnessing towards the restoration of human dignity. "This country has given the whole world a wonderful example. We should never forget that it was civil society that took the lead in the struggle against apartheid. Nor should we forget that it was an international struggle, which mobilised people all over the world. You could almost say that it marked the beginning of global civil society," said Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, addressing a forum of NGOs in Durban.

Annan rejoiced at the participation of oppressed groups like the Roma or Sinti from Europe; the victims of discrimination based on work and descent from South Asia, Japan and West Africa; the people of African descent from the Americas and organizations of migrant workers. "I also see groups which up to now have focused on many different issues — poverty; HIV/AIDS or other disabilities; youth; gender; trafficking and prostitution; religious intolerance; conflict; the environment; — and, of course, human rights and the rights of minorities. You are here because you have discovered that racism intersects with every one of those issues. It aggravates every other form of oppression and discrimination. As long as it persists, the disadvantaged have little hope of escape."