International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

In the context that the international community has been and will always strive to achieve sustainable development, around the world, people still daily suffer from hatred and injustice because of skin color and origin, nationality or ethnicity, or other distinctive characteristics. The International Day For the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (March 21) is therefore celebrated to call on the international community to intensify efforts against all forms of racism.

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination origin

The problem that hinders the progress of millions of people around the world is racial and ethnic discrimination that occurs every day. Racism and intolerance can take many forms – from denying individuals access to basic principles of equality to inciting racial hatred, which can lead to genocide – all of which can destroy lives and disrupt communities. Stemming from that fact, the fight against racism has always been considered a priority issue of the international community and the center of action programs for people.

We have been fighting racism everywhere, every day, all year long. However, March 21 is a special day, chosen by the United Nations General Assembly in October 1966 to celebrate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in order to call on the international community to intensify efforts against racial discrimination. All forms of racism exist and take place around the world. This day was established to commemorate the events that happened 50 years ago - March 21, 1960 - in Sharpevill (South Africa), where police opened fire and killed students who peacefully protested against anti-government protesters apartheid regime.

In South Africa, the apartheid regime has been abolished. Racist laws and practices have been abolished in many countries and based on the International Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, we have created an international framework against racism.

In 2015, International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was celebrated with the theme: "Learning from historical tragedies to better fight racism" with emphasis on the origins of racism and emphasizes the need to draw on the lessons history can teach us to combat these scourges.

In a message released on the occasion of this year's International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (March 21, 2015), United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon emphasized: Every day, people of all ages suffer harbor hatred, injustice, and humiliation because skin color, origin, national or ethnicity, or other characteristics are discriminated against. Such discrimination exacerbated oppression, poverty, slavery, genocide and war.

An opportunity to renew our commitment to building a just and equal world where xenophobia and bigotry do not exist is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. We must learn the lessons of history and acknowledge the damage caused by racism. That means carefully preserving memories of historical mistakes so we can use our knowledge to dispel prejudice and work towards tolerance, non-discrimination and respect for diversity everywhere and for all.

On the occasion of the 50^th anniversary of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 2015, secretary general Ban Ki-moon stated that: over the past 50 years, the fight against racial discrimination has made great progress. From the end of colonialism, to the abolition of apartheid and to the rise of a movement, all these events were witnessed by the people of the world. And Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also spoke further about racism which to this day remains a dangerous threat to people and communities in all regions.

According to the senior UN leader, peace can only be built on the premise that all people have equal rights and dignity regardless of ethnicity, gender, religion, social status, association or other characteristics. To that end, in order to promote the development and application of strong policies and laws force, thereby ending all forms of discrimination, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination was called on all countries to ratify by Ban Ki-moon.

How to celebrate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

The whole world is joining hands to eliminate racism, and especially on March 21 the actions are even more powerful. Today, the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity is enshrined in many international treaties and constitutes an important element in the laws of many countries. In particular, the most important is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which came into force in 1969 and has been ratified by 170 countries around the world so far.

Many countries have training programs for teachers to help them deal with problems related to race in schools. Many multinational companies, such as: Nike, Reebok, Daimler Chrysler, Volkswagen, Hennes and Mauritz have introduced voluntary codes of conduct within companies and partners that contain content on preventing discrimination against racially motivated treatment. The Swedish government has introduced a law requiring private companies to certify that they comply with all anti-discrimination and equality promotion laws when entering into contracts with state agencies. UNESCO launched the anti-racism cities initiative at the local level in 2004. In the 10-point action plan, member cities committed themselves to promoting anti-racism initiatives. The Union of European Football Clubs (UEFA) has published a 10-point action plan with a series of measures calling on clubs to promote an anti-racism campaign among their fans of football players and officials.

At the Summit on Refugees and Migration in September 2016, the member states of the United Nations strongly condemned the acts and manifestations of racism, discrimination and discrimination and against refugees and immigrants. World leaders agreed with the United Nations "Together" campaign to promote saving lives, sharing responsibility and promoting respect for refugees and immigrants around the world.

On International Elimination of Racial Discrimination Day, you can comply with national policies as well as international laws regarding the elimination of racial discrimination. Or become friendly, multi-ethnic friends. Share a photo of you and your friends with different skin tones and the United Nations message on the elimination of racism on social media with the hashtag #InternationalDayForTheEliminationRacialDiscrimination.