 |
Anti-racism Conference to be Held in Durban
World Conference Against Racism will be held from August 31 to September 7 in Durban. This was announced Tuesday by Mr.Sipho Pityana, director- general of the South African Foreign Affairs Department.
The United States earlier threatened it would not attend the conference if the issue of reparation for slavery and that of equating Zionism with racism were put on the agenda.
According to Mr.Sipho Pityana, as far as he knew, the U.S. government was sending a delegation of about 50 people to the Durban conference, which will be held from August 31 to September 7.
Pityana said the groundwork done so far had laid a good basis to reach agreement at the conference.
"We are looking forward to a successful conference," he said.
The two issues dogging the process were that of the Middle East and of slavery and colonialism.
Pityana said there was a reluctance from former colonial powers to extend an apology for slavery and colonialism on the grounds of the legal implications, as well as implications for compensation and reparation.
In a so-called non-paper -- a document which could be withdrawn if agreement is not reached on it -- the African countries excluded demands for individual compensation, but elaborated on trans-national compensation.
The African non-paper played a central role in bringing parties together, Pityana said.
The African bloc, he said, wanted an acknowledgment that slavery, slave trade and colonialism played an important part in laying the foundation for the kinds of racial discrimination still seen today.
Colonialism, which was often down-played, involved the take- over of countries, dispossessing and displacing people and their regimes, segregating communities and creating inequality among them, he said.
"The legacy of this persists," Pityana noted, adding that " colonialism was also the take-over of resources which contributed to the enrichment of the developed North."
"It is not just about aid; but about altering the structural relations between Africa and the developed world," he said.
As it now stood, the former colonial powers were willing to express themselves in language of regret and remorse, in what came close to an apology, the South African official said, adding "the debate is whether that constitutes sufficient apology. That debate will continue in Durban."
Another debate is on whether slavery, slave trade and colonialism can be regarded as crimes against humanity. Some hold the view that at the time these actions were committed, they were not regarded as such, but now they are.
"I am certain we will reach agreement on all of these issues," Pityana said.
In This Section
|