United Nations, March 21.- The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination today demands measures to combat this scourge, 75 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
With a call for recognition, justice and development in the International Decade for People of African Descent, the date seeks the promotion and protection of universal guarantees for that group.
The day coincides with the killing of 69 people by police against a peaceful demonstration opposing the apartheid pass law in Sharpeville, South Africa, in 1960.
By proclaiming this International Day, the General Assembly urged the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.
The United Nations (UN) recognizes the impact of this and the consequences of slavery and colonialism on the lives and opportunities of people of African descent that prevent billions of people from fully enjoying their human rights and freedoms.
However, several initiatives emanating from the largest political forum on the planet are committed to stopping these scourges.
The prohibition of racial discrimination was enshrined in all basic international human rights instruments, which impose on states obligations and tasks aimed at eradicating discrimination in the public and private spheres.
The principle of equality also requires the adoption of special measures to eliminate the conditions that cause or encourage the perpetuation of racial discrimination.
Under this precept, the General Assembly reiterates that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and have the capacity to contribute constructively to the development and well-being of society.
According to that body, all doctrines of racial superiority are scientifically false, morally reprehensible, socially unjust and dangerous and should therefore be rejected.
At the same time, those theories that attempt to determine the existence of separate human races should not be taken into account either.
Among other actions promoted by the UN, on December 23, 2013, the General Assembly proclaimed the International Decade of People of African Descent that began on January 1, 2015 and will end on December 31, 2024 with the theme People of African Descent: recognition, justice and development.
According to the organization, nearly 200 million people who identify themselves within that group live in the Americas while several million more live in other parts of the world, outside the African continent. (PL) (Photo: PL/Archive)
