Head of the Nepalese delegation to the Durban Review Conference and Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations in Geneva Dr. Dinesh Bhattarai has said, that all have a collective responsibility to combat discrimination and intolerance in all its forms and manifestations.
Addressing the general segment of the Durban Review Conference in Geneva on Wednesday, he highlighted the plight of those discriminated on the basis of race and ethnicity in many parts of the world, adding, “People continue to be discriminated and victimized for their ethnic origins as being ‘others’. Atrocities committed against minorities whether migrant workers, women or children, are a clear demonstration of undermining the honour and dignity of human beings and disrespecting the equality of human rights.”
He highlighted the arduous struggle and immense sacrifices that have led to profound socio-political transformation in the country within the overall democratic framework, and mentioned competitive multiparty democratic system of governance, universal principles of human rights, freedom of press, independent judiciary, rule of law, inclusiveness, harmony, tolerance, social justice and restructuring of the State as the central foundations of the transformation process.
Expressing Nepal’s commitment to end racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Ambassador Bhattarai said, “As a party to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, we remain committed to combat all forms of discrimination and intolerance. As a multiethnic, multicultural and multilingual society, we recognize the rights of all people to participate on equal footing in all spheres of national life”.
The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by the World Conference on Racism in 2001, provide a comprehensive framework to work together with mutual respect, solidarity and partnership for eradicating the scourge of discrimination and intolerance. The Review Conference (DRC) is being held in Geneva from 20-24 April 2009 to take stock of what has been accomplished, and look for reasons that have stood in the implementation of our commitments. nepalnews.com Apr 22 09