Take Barack Obama's historic
speech as example in approaching racism, racial discrimination, appeals
Sri Lankan ambassador Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka at UN Human Rights Council
The Permanent Mission of
Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office at Geneva
26th March 2008
Answers and Final remarks by Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Intergovernmental
Working Group on the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration
and Programme of Action, H.E. Mr. Dayan Jayatilleka, under Item 9: Racism,
racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance,
follow-up and implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme
of Action:
"Thank you Mr. President Ambassador Jazaïry, Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I shall not reiterate what I said in my oral report on the 19th March.
I shall content myself with just an observation or two about the discussion
as it unfolded this morning.
Ladies and Gentlemen, no phenomenon in the world has a lower moral
standing than those of racism and racial discrimination. There are those
who would even allow themselves to be called fascists!. But I can't
think of any political movement or even individual who would happily
allow himself or herself to be termed a racist or one engaged in racial
discrimination.
That being the case, we must ponder why it is so difficult for us to
make progress in combating racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia.
Given that this is abhorred universally, given that racism, racial discrimination
and xenophobia are at the heart of much of the cruelty and violence
of today's world, why is it that we find it so difficult to make progress
even in the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of
Action? I am not going to venture any hypothesis, ladies and gentlemen,
I just want us to contemplate on this when we have the time.
The second and the final point I wish to make is an appeal. It is an
appeal to take note of a new way of looking at these interrelated phenomena.
A new way which puts us on a far higher analytical and ethical vantage
point. A new way has opened up to regard and discuss these problems.
I refer to the historic speech made by Barack Obama, confronting honestly
but not aggressively, these phenomena in his own society, but with a
far wider relevance than purely to his society alone. My appeal is that
our own discussions, our search, our strivings in the inter-governmental
working group, in other Durban related spaces, and in any discussion
of this interrelated scourges, we must take into account and seek to
emulate that example of Senator Obama which I personally consider to
have opened up a new paradigm, may be even a new episteme, in discussing
this subject.
That I think is the way to go. As for my own work as the Chairperson
of the intergovernmental working group, all I can do is renew my pledge
to engage in extensive consultation and inclusion, excluding no one
and no one's point of view, in hoping to implement the Durban Declaration
and Programme of Action. I appeal to all members to be sensitive to
each other's point of view and not to engage in partisan or zero sum
games, nor in attempts that can be portrayed as intending to paralyse
or postpone beyond 2009, the functioning of this IGWG.
Thank you Mr. President."
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