Casablanca hosts launch of Arab coalition against racism

30/06/2008

The creation of an Arab coalition of municipalities against racism has paved the way for the launch of a global structure promoting tolerance at this week's Third World Forum on Human Rights.

By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 30/06/08

[spidh.org] An international coalition of municipalities against racism, including an Arab group recently launched in Casablanca, will be announced on June 30th at the Third World Forum on Human Rights in Nantes, France.

A number of Arab municipal officials gathered in Casablanca on Wednesday (June 25th) to launch a UNESCO-supported coalition against racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. The Arab coalition completes a range of similar coalitions UNESCO has already established on regional levels in Africa, North America, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific.

With the participation of the Arab coalition, UNESCO plans to announce an international coalition against racism on Monday (June 30th) at the Third World Forum on Human Rights in Nantes, France.

Casablanca Mayor Mohamed Sajid said the aim of the Arab initiative is to create a network of Arab municipalities that wish to share their experiences in order to improve their anti-racism policies.

"The city of Casablanca has been called the 'beacon city' for the Arab region, with the main mission of co-ordinating anti-racism actions and initiatives for Arab cities," Sajid said.

Nouakchott's communal council chairman, Ahmed Hamza, said that racism is reflected in different forms everywhere.

"The hardest form without a doubt is poverty," said Hamza. "When you combat poverty, as you should, and you instil the principle of equal opportunity, then I think a number of things will diminish."

Signatory cities commit themselves to several obligations.

They undertake to promote equality programmes in employment and the provision of services and they agree to offer greater support to victims of racial discrimination.

They must also introduce an action plan into their municipal strategies and policies to provide the human, financial and material resources necessary to identify and combat acts of discrimination based on racism, xenophobia and intolerance.

"Policies implemented locally must aim to combat all forms of discrimination at the legislative level," said UNESCO human rights specialist in the fight against discrimination and racism Marcello Scaronei. "On the other side, there needs to be work with the public and associations, to spread a culture of tolerance."

Some cities may create "urban observatories" in conjunction with civil society actors, Scaronei added. These observatories would be charged with developing systematic methods of collecting data on racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance, in order to study the phenomena and develop strategies to fight them.

One important aspect of the coalition structure is its co-operative nature. By encouraging political decision makers and civil society to work together in the fight against racism, the coalition hopes to strengthen the communications between municipal administrations and their residents.

These types of co-operative relationships are expected to bolster the roles young people and local NGOs can play in raising awareness of racism and promoting intercultural dialogue and tolerance.