Educating Children and Youth Against Racism
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NATIONS UNIES UNITED NATIONS HAUT COMMISSARIAT AUX DROITS DE L’HOMME HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, XENOPHOBIA AND RELATED INTOLERANCE CONFERENCE MONDIALE CONTRE LE RACISME, LA DISCRIMINATION RACIALE, LA XENOPHOBIE ET L’INTOLERANCE QUI Y EST ASSOCIEE EDUCATING CHILDREN AND YOUTH AGAINST RACISM Prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Durban, South Africa Educational Efforts to Combat Racism Table of Contents Introduction I. Racism Around the World II. Formal Educational Efforts A. Dowa Education in Japan B. Implementation of the Action Plan of the Slovak Republic C. Anti-Defamation League’s Efforts in the United States D. Peace Education in Jordan E. The British Columbia Teachers Federation’s Programme Against Racism F. Racism. No Way! Project in Australia G. South Africa: Two Projects H. Clover Park Middle School, New Zealand I. A Project by Amnesty International in Mauritius J. Israel/Palestine: The Israel/Palestine Centre for Research and Information K. Activities of the Board for Ethnic Equality in Denmark L. iEARN: School-based Education Employing the Internet III. Informal Educational Efforts: Internet Web Sites IV. And All the Rest . Conclusion Introduction Racism and racist practices exist in every corner of the world. Racist activities run the gamut from offensive speech to the exclusion of victimized groups and individuals from adequate employment, housing and other services, to violence, including beatings and killings. No racial or ethnic group is necessarily safe from these toxic acts and attitudes. There is perhaps no place better to focus anti-racism efforts than to educate children and youth about racism and how to combat it. Racism, after all, is only as strong as its proponents and practitioners – and educating the next generations is surely one of the most effective ways of reducing the number of racists and the potential appeal of their message. Accordingly, this Report focuses on anti-racism educational efforts directed at children and youth. In the first section, the Report describes the scope of racist activities worldwide, with a particular emphasis on how they affect young people. In the second, and principal, section, a variety of formal anti-racism practices in schools around the world are described. Some involve national or local governments; others are private efforts by NGOs and other groups. Most involve teacher training and curricular activities; some include more, including bringing students of diverse backgrounds together informally, but within the school context. It is important to note that these are simply a few noteworthy examples – only a few – of such formal school practices in existence around the world: no attempt was made here to be exhaustive or scientifically representative. In addition, while the Report has attempted to describe these efforts clearly and fairly, the High Commissioner is not in a position to specifically endorse any of them. The following, much shorter, section of the Report is devoted to describing a handful of Internet websites designed, in whole or in part, to convey to children and youth anti-racism information. While these efforts represent only a small fraction of informal anti-racism educational efforts, they are of particular interest here, both because of the rise of racist activities on the Internet (described below), and because of their potential for reaching millions of young people no matter where they are situated in the world. The third, and shortest, section acknowledges the wide range of informal educational and other activities by youth groups devoted to combating racism: while these activities exist in ever-increasing number, it is beyond the scope of this Report to describe them in the detail they deserve: it remains for another day and another report to carry out that task. All the efforts described or mentioned here are intended to inform children and youth about racism and racists, to arm them with information to resist and debunk racism and its myths, and to inculcate in them a knowledge about and respect for differences between people. In the end, the efforts seek to create in these young people the sense of mutual respect and tolerance of others that will guarantee that they will not themselves become racists, and that they will not tolerate racism in others. ------------------- Various definitions of ‘racism’ exist, some narrower than others. In the context of the World Conference Against Racism, this Report employs the inclusive approach 2 adopted in Article 1.1 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965), according to which racial discrimination is any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race or colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life. Various definitions of ‘youth’ exist as well. Here too, this Report adopts an inclusive approach: ‘youth’ in what follows refers to individuals between the ages of 16 and 25. As the Report also covers educational efforts directed towards school-aged children (aged about 5-15), its scope corresponds roughly to individuals in schools – elementary, middle and high schools, and colleges or universities. I. Racism Around the World In a number of recent reports, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and numerous others, have documented the rise of racism and racist activities around the world.1 It would be impracticable in this Report to attempt to exhaustively survey such activities; rather, it must suffice to follow the High Commissioner’s lead in providing examples from the regions of the world, sufficient to show that the problem exists virtually everywhere, and that it is an ongoing and serious one. As the Special Rapporteur particularly noted, the current worldwide immigration crisis has made way for a new wave of racist sentiment and activities. According to the Rapporteur, as a result of the worldwide organization of the movement of goods and services, there have resulted “problems in regulating migratory flows from the poorest regions to the most prosperous . All over the world, immigrants have become easy scapegoats and sacrificial victims of the economic crisis.” A/51/301. The Rapporteur noted cases of increased activities against immigrants, almost always amounting to racism, from all over the world. A relatively new phenomenon, noted by the High Commissioner in a number of reports (see note 1), and by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance,2 is the employment of the Internet as a medium for the spread of racist propaganda. Starting with a single racist website in 1995, there currently exist hundreds (some have estimated thousands) of racist websites on the world wide web. These sites reside on servers, typically in countries that protect racist speech under their freedom of expression laws. The sites are easily reached by computer users of all ages from their home or office computers anywhere in the world. In this respect, Internet-based racism knows no borders. These sites vary in complexity and sophistication, but there can be no doubt that they can be effective, with sophisticated graphics and music. Stormfront, for example, advertises itself as a haven for “white pride.” In addition to containing racist materials, 1 For what follows, see Reports on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance prepared by Mr. Maurice Glele-Ahanhanzo, Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights, A/50/476, A/51/301, E/CN.4/1997/71. See also Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the use of Internet for purposes of incitement to racial hatred, racist propaganda and xenophobia, and on ways of promoting international cooperation in this area, A/CONF.189/PC.2/12 (Prep. Report). 2 See “Legal Instruments to Combat Racism on the Internet,” Report prepared by the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law, CRI (2000) 27. 3 Stormfront allows other racists to post materials on its site. Anti-semitic and Holocaust- denying sites have taken up the invitation. Other sites specialize in the vilification of Arabs generally and Palestinians in particular. And yet other ones offer for sale racist materials, including Nazi memorabilia. All of these racist activities affect children and youth: sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly. Many experience racism directed at them: in schools, where they may be ridiculed by bullies or teachers, or will read in textbooks denigrations of their people and culture; on the playgrounds where they face exclusion from activities and sports and more ridicule; on public transportation and on the streets. They witness mistreatment of their parents and other relatives; they can live in relative poverty; they experience the media portraying their group and culture as disproportionately violence- prone and dangerous; they hear political leaders in their cities and countries decrying the increase in immigration by their own peoples. And, increasingly, they are being introduced to, and are becoming adept at navigating, the Internet. Despite the proliferation of “filtering tools” that prevent access to objectionable web materials, children and youth are increasingly coming across racist materials on the web, reading them, considering