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Annan Urges Anti-racism Conference to Banish Hatred, Prejudice
Annan Meets Arafat in Durban
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan stressed Friday in Durban that the ongoing World Conference Against Racism must be focused on banishing hatred from the new century and prejudice of the past.
"Tracing a connection with part crimes may not always be the most constructive way to redress present inequalities, in material terms," said Annan in his opening speech at the conference which will last eight days.
"But man does not live by bread alone. The sense of continuity with the past is an integral part of each man's or woman's identity," he stressed.
Noting that some historical wrongs are "traceable" to individuals who are still alive, or corporations that are still in business, Annan said: "The society they have wronged may forgive them, as part of the process of reconciliation, but they cannot demand forgiveness, as of right."
Annan called on everyone to consider where he or she belongs in this complex historical chain. "It is always easier to think of the wrongs one's own society has suffered. It is less comfortable to think in what ways our own good fortune might relate to the sufferings of others, in the past or present."
The U.N. chief also urged political leaders to shoulder their special responsibility, because they have accepted the task of representing a whole society.
"They are accountable to their fellow citizens, but also -- in a sense -- accountable for them, and for the actions of their predecessors," he said, noting that there have been some striking examples in recent decades of national leaders assuming this responsibility, acknowledging past wrongs and asking pardon from -- or offering an apology to -- the victims and their heirs.
He said "such gestures cannot right the wrongs of the past. They can sometimes help to free the present -- and the future -- form the shackles of the past."
Annan stressed that in any case "past wrongs must not distract us from present evils. Our aim must be to banish from this new century the hatred and prejudice that have disfigured previous centuries".
"This conference is a test of our international community -- of its will to unite on a topic of central importance in people's lives. Let us not fail this test," he concluded.
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