Article
A roadmap for tolerance
By Eric Falt
To read the online version published in the Hindu
Every year on 21 March, a global solidarity movement gathers to fight prejudice and intolerance by marking the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The week of focus provides an opportunity to explore the nuanced causes and consequences of modern racism, and renew an important commitment to combat discrimination, globally and in India. Racial discrimination, beyond being a breach of human rights, has harmful effects on human health and well-being, and risks wider disruptions to social cohesion.
The words of the former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan remain pertinent in this battle: 鈥淥ur mission is to confront ignorance with knowledge, bigotry with tolerance, and isolation with the outstretched hand of generosity. Racism can, will, and must be defeated.鈥
Current forms of racism and discrimination are complex and often covert. Public attitudes to anti-racism have improved, as expressions of racist ideology have become less socially acceptable. Yet, the anonymity of the Internet has allowed racist stereotypes and inaccurate information to spread online. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, traffic to hate sites and specific posts against Asians grew by 200% in the United States. In India and in Sri Lanka, social media groups and messaging platforms were used to call for social and economic boycotts of religious minorities, amid false information accusing them of spreading the virus. Structural forms of discrimination, including micro-aggressions and everyday indignities, similarly remain widespread. The use of new technologies and artificial intelligence in security raise the spectre of 鈥榯echno-racism鈥, as facial recognition programmes can inaccurately misidentify and target racialized communities.
Prejudiced attitudes and discriminatory acts, whether subtle or overt, aggravate existing inequalities in societies, exposing intersecting vulnerabilities. A study published by the Lancet drew attention to the social dimension of the COVID-19 pandemic and the greater vulnerability of ethnic minorities, who have been disproportionately affected. The World Health Organization has cautioned on the dangers of profiling and stigmatizing communities that can lead to fear and the subsequent concealment of cases and delays in detection. Women and girls also carry a double burden of being exposed to racial and gender-based prejudices. Racial discrimination deepens and fuels inequality in our societies.
To contribute to this important discussion and signify the need for urgent work, UNESCO鈥檚 headquarters in Paris hosted a Global Forum against Racism and Discrimination on 22 March 2021, in partnership with the Republic of Korea. The Forum gathered policymakers, academics, and partners to initiate a new multi-stakeholder partnership on anti-racism. The new proposed roadmap to tolerance calls for a multi-sectoral effort to tackle the root causes of racism and discrimination through anti-racist laws, policies and programmes .
UNESCO鈥檚 actions against racism through education, the sciences, culture, and communication offer an example of a way forward. UNESCO promotes the role of education in providing the space for young people to understand processes that sustain racism, to learn from the past, and to stand up for human rights. Through new approaches to intercultural dialogue and learning, such as Global Citizenship Education and Media and Information Literacy, youth and communities can be equipped with skills and competencies to eradicate harmful stereotypes and foster tolerance. UNESCO also offers master classes to empower students to become champions of anti-racism in their schools and communities. The International Coalition of Inclusive and Sustainable Cities provides an additional platform for city-level planning and a laboratory for good practices in the fight against racism and discrimination.
Recent and new manifestations of racism and discrimination call for renewed commitments to mobilize for equality and to stand up against intolerance. Racism will not be overcome with mere professions of good faith but must be proactively combatted with anti-racist action in order to expose and redress the overt and subtle indignities that persist across our societies. A global culture of tolerance, equality and anti-discrimination is built first and foremost in the minds of women and men.
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Eric Falt is the Director and Representative of the UNESCO New Delhi Cluster Office covering Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
