Durban Declaration collects dust 20 years on

IN 2001, the UN passed the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) to combat racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance.

In its declaration, following nine days of intense discussions, the UN said that Durban should be seen as a beginning and not an end, describing it as the key to responding to the hopes and aspirations of those who continue to suffer from discrimination.

But 20 years later, not much has changed, says former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.

“If you look at the world today, not much has changed. None of the resolutions have been effectively implemented. The situation is really bad with people of African origin in particular. The issue of migrants in Europe, the situation in Haiti, and of course, the challenges experienced by the Palestinian people tell us that things have not progressed much,” said Pillay.

In South Africa, since the Durban Declaration there have been several flare-ups of xenophobic violence and instances of racism.

From the Black Lives Matter campaign emanating from the murder of George Floyd in the US and extending to shocking scenes of racial abuse meted out to black footballers in Europe, there can be no denying the rising levels of intolerance.

Part of the Durban Declaration also dealt with reparations, particularly for people of African origin and countries ravaged by slavery and colonialism.

French President Emmanuel Macron was heckled this week as he asked Algerians, who had fought for France during the Algerian war for Independence, for forgiveness for not doing enough to support them.

In Namibia, the country’s parlia ment debated the apology and

Germany’s acknowledgement that it had perpetuated a genocide against the Nama and Herero people in the early 1900s. The apology, however, is tied to an aid deal worth €1.1 billion (about R19bn), to be paid out over 30years. The list could go on, but suffice to say it is not enough.

“The transatlantic trade that enslaved Africans and colonialism were grave violations of international law that obliges states to make reparations proportionate to the harms inflicted and to ensure that structures in society that are perpetuating the injustices of the past are transformed,” Pillay said.

“The voices on the streets in South Africa and in other former colonies demand to know why human rights to health, justice, education and clean water are not available to all, but continue to be treated as commodities for sale only to the elite.”

Pillay referred to a study conducted by the UN Human Rights Office which made a significant finding that indicates that racism and racial discrimination against Africans and people of African descent were often rooted in policies and practices grounded in the debasement of the status of individuals in society. Their impact was particularly apparent in states with a legacy or links to enslavement, the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans and/or colonialism, resulting in the presence of sizeable communities of people of African descent.

In July, speaking at a function hosted by the University of Pretoria, Pillay shared some of the reasons for the slow progress in implementing the Durban Declaration, a lot of which had to do with world powers’ politicking.

“Many of us recall the withdrawal from the Durban conference by the US delegation, headed by US Secretary of State Colin Powell, over disagreement with language in the earlier draft purporting to equate Zionism with racism.

“The words were omitted in the final draft, but the antagonism to Durban persisted.

“Another occurrence at the conference related, I was told, to sensitivity by Israel and its supporters to hurtful and insulting treatment of Israel by some Arab states and NGOs,” said Pillay.

She said in the immediate aftermath of the conference, the foreign minister of

Israel, who had represented his country at the conference, had recorded on his website that Durban was a success story for Israel. But for the following six years, a sustained campaign was mounted within the UN by Israel and the US and, on the outside, the UN, by pro-Israel lobby groups to discredit Durban and block the holding of the review conference that was mandated by the UN General Assembly.

“The matter was politicised to the detriment of the anti-racism agenda. Another setback for the implementation of the DDPA arose from the fact that the attack on the World Trade Center towers in the US occurred on September 11, 2001, three days after Durban ended. Attention was distracted away from Durban to the more immediate challenge of ensuring safety against terrorist actions.”

Today’s world carries its own challenges, but Pillay was unequivocal when it came to what needed to be done and who to hold accountable.

“Rich countries, particularly global North countries, must do more. There is far too little being done to implement the Durban Declaration.

“The declaration remains the only tool which prescribes comprehensive measures for combating all the scourges of racism and adequate remedies for victims, but it is not being implemented effectively.

“I would go as far as to say that many of the rich , developed nations have violated their commitment to the Durban Declaration.”

Pillay said it was essential that states made efforts to dismantle structures that contributed towards political, social and economic inequalities.

“States must create conditions of life that uphold dignity and human rights.”