FORUM-ASIA, along with three other human rights NGOs, presented a statement on 26 March at the UN Human Rights Council during a general debate on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, and the follow-up and implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA).
FORUM-ASIA, along with three other human rights NGOs, presented a statement on 26 March at the 7th session of the UN Human Rights Council during a general debate on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, and the follow-up and implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA).
“More than 260 million people in Asia continue to suffer from caste and descent-based discrimination, such as the Dalits in South Asia and the Buraku people in Japan,” the joint statement said.
The statement includes concerns expressed by the participants from Asia at the 1st Regional Civil Society Workshop on the 2009 Durban Review Conference (DRC), held in Bangkok from 25-26 February this year. It was organised by FORUM-ASIA and the International Movement Against all forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR).
Both the DDPA and DRC are linked to the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR) held in Durban, South Africa. The DDPA is its outcome document; and as the review of the World Conference, the DRC, will be convened in the first half of 2009.
The organisations expressed their concern that Asian governments had not “developed national plans of action on the DDPA”, and urged them to do so.
The organisations also pointed out that “Asia today witnesses various forms of religious intolerance and conflicts, often linked to religious-based nationalism or political ideologies that result in gross human rights violations against those who do not wish to subscribe to such ideologies or beliefs”.
Their statement also notes that in Asia, women face “multiple forms of discrimination”, such as “rape, sexual harassment and exploitation, trafficking, dowry death, ‘(dis)honour killings’ and acid attacks”.
