Expectations

Here are the messages you sent to the ICARE team for the participants of the European Conference against racism:
Zaude Hailemariam , Human Rights for Africa (HRFA)
My expectations are, inter alia, the following: 1. That a new era of hamane humanity towards discriminated peoples workdwide will be inaugurated by the pending UN Conference against Discrimination etc, in South Africa, next year. 2. That the pending World Conference would usher-in a new global environment for the realisation the fruits of human rights and fundamental freedoms, in real terms. 3. That the most harmful form of discrimination, Concealed Racism (in Swedish Dold Racism) would be identified and eliminated."Dold Racism" has been developed with sophistication in Sweden, although it may exist in other European Countries also, with varying harmful effects, without being clearly identified.Currently, some careful studies, specially in Sweden, have revealed the damages done by such form of discrimination,without apparent manifest causes, because the factors that brought them about are deliberately hidden, inter alia, by false postures and unjustified claims. That is why, for example, Sweden has been enjoying undeserved prestige on its human rights records, even though peoples with foreign background, in Sweden, are undergoing harshest discrimination in most fields.The harmful consequences emanating from these practice are, now, recognised even by some public documents and officials, although they tend to blame others for their causes.What is needed is the global recognition of the existence of "Dold Racism" and the exertion of national and intensified international efforts for its elimination. 4. That discrimination in the practice of returning of cultural objects to their countries of origin, would give way to enable many developing countries to regain their lost cultural properties.UNESCO´s worthy efforts in this context should be supported. 5. That discrimination in the punishment for War Crimes exists and it should be condemned worldwide.For example, German and Japanese, Rwandan and Bosnian war criminals have been, and still are being, punished, while Italian Fascist War Criminals, who had massacred no less than 760000 innocent Ethiopians are being exonerated from blame even historically.This has been one of the ugliest form of discrimination of the 20th century, that should be noted by the World Conference, for the first time. Highest regards to all participants


Yasmin Chowdhury Millineum Award Winner from Tolerence and Diversity
A youth lead Charity Organisation in London working at the grass root level expects that the European level NGO conference helps organisations like them to join forces and provides chance to share knowledge with other similar organisations. She feels that the outcome of the conference is going to be limited as much depends on the government. They say the treatment meated out to the refugess are not fair and believe more such conferences in the future.


Anne, Norway
It is new for me to be in such a conference. It is quite an experience to meet people working in the same field. We hope that this NGO Forum will be productive for us and our case will be on the agenda.


Cor, Netherlands
The main expectation is to meet colleagues, to hear what's new is happening on international level. To discuss with Dutch partners the common projects and their possible efficiency. He is rather sceptical about official output of the conference but it's a chance to use.

It is a pitty that small NGOs have no money to come here and only big NGOs are represented in this Forum.


Leonid, Russia
My personal expectation is to reach better understanding of our national problems with violation of Human Rights. In Human Rights' field as everywhere else there are "bosses" - people who are more close to mechanisms of pressure on those who have power. We have to make sure that those "bosses" know well our problems and make the right pressure. The same for International NGOs and Conseil of Europe. We are travelling a lot in the province. The Russian province has to have a possibility to make statements about it's situation and to be heard. I'm here also for that.


Arthur, Armenia
I'm happy to be at this conference and to talk about world problems on racism. I think we will reach a certain effect here.However, I have to precise that despite all the problems Armenia doesn't have at least this: racial discrimination is not present there. It's an opinion of our president and I totally agree with him on that (I not always do). If we have problems with people of Azerbajdjan origins it's because we are in conflict with their country, it's a problem of sharing land. It's nothing to do with racial discrimination. So, I don't think this Conference has a big importance for Armenia, but it definetely has a World importance.


Association of Romas "Cerenja"-Stip, R.Macedonia:
I think that we should expect some practical outcomes. There has been enough of rhetorics and nice intentions (we in the postcommunist countries know very well from the past- even the policies targeting the Roma/Gypsies had looked and still do look very nice on the paper).
So:

1. How to move from policies and declarations to practice and implementation of law

2. How to get people aware: how to bring the issue to schools, media and to general public (who seem not to be interested as they think that this issue does not concern them)

3. Concrete strategies how NGOs can contribute to "democratisation" of policies, involving people and helping to voice that not only the victim but also the perpetrator (even if unintentional), and the whole society suffer from racism.

1. - 3. Focus should be placed mainly on institutional, structural, and other hidden or unintentional forms of racism, paternalism and detrimental forms of social control that are being fostered by " neutral" or quazi liberal policies. Racist violence is also very important but I guess most of the people are already aware of the problem...

I hope at least some of the questions will be answered or at least dealt with. .


M. Diakité
My expectations are that governments listen to NGOs and get serious about adopting integration policies that lead to equality and justice for all.
It's the politicians that hold the power, even thougth they often point to the "people".
Convincing the power-blocks to do the right thing is what I expect.


The Roma Foundation (Stiftelsen Roma) , Norway and Norske Kveners Forbund
You asked for our expectations for the conference, and here are our answer.
We work in our respective organisation for human right for our minority groups. We also have take part in the norwegian NGO-Forum leaded by Anti Rasistisk Senter, where our organisations, who represent the roma people and kvener together with the others, have prepared a position document called: A Contribution from the Norwegian NGO working group.

In this document our foundations main issues for our peoples has been taken care of. We expect for the conference to make sure that national and linguistic minorities needs been taken in the conference finale dokument as a cross-cutting themes (Vulnerable groups). Our experiences tells us that these minorities groups still are coming last in the work against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intoleranse.

Our people has suffered for many hundred years in Norway, and it is time for taken our minorities groups situation serious and immediately taken concrete steeps to bring these sufferings to an end.

Romani/travellers and Kvener was in the past subject to assimilation and systematic serious human rights violations such as forces sterilisations of women, taken the children from their parents, re-educate the families in special places to bekome what they called normal norwegians, force the romani/travellers to stop their travelling, not speak their own language and learn the children to speak it, and in many other ways encroachments against the people. The norwegian goverment has given an official excuse but we need financiel support to rebilt and develop the languages and cultures.

The romani/travellers/gipsey are among the people in Europe today who experience racism, racial dicrimation and related intolerance on the most cruel ways in many countries. The conference must do everything possible to make he goverments to see the reality and do what they can to bring help to the suffering people.

We ask for concrete reparations, it is urgent and we hope that the head line of this conference: From principels to practice will be real.

We look forard to communicate with others working for the same issues and to join the conference.


George Wilkes, Cambridge, England.
I would expect especial attention to be paid to the records of the host countries of the various parts of the World Conference, and the records of the member states on the organizing committees.
I would expect these countries to see that this is an opportunity to show that they are improving their anti-racism work, and I would expect observers to see that the credibility of the whole process is affected by the states which play a particularly important part in the World Conference.


Ahmad Saidullah, Canada
Guess my expectations would be that NGOs are able to help voice and move the people's agenda at the UN.I support Steve Egharevba's idea about grassroots campaigns to eradicate racism locally and regionally. I feel though the issues are both national and international in scope and should bear on the following:

1) From what I hear, there is strong resistance to having racism in all its forms even named as an issue at the UN. For anti-racism activists, a watered defintion of racism as overt acts of hostility and discrimination is only part of the picture. The realities are more systemic and subtle.One cannot treat a cancer by calling it a cold. A relevant defintiion of racism (and other oppressions) needs to be adopted although I hope we won't get bogged down in terminology.

2) The issue of redress/compensation for violation of collective human rights is one example that meets with opposition from the western bloc. I would hope that we can devise mechanism to bring these to pass or to create pressures for compliance for all UN states.

3) The UN seems toothless in its ability to check member states' anti-immigrant platform and refugee detentions (and generally the platform of revanche), although they have signed various instruments to that effect. Canada is not an exception and openly violates these principles. I would like to see some accountability demanded of UN members. I am not sure I can expect results though:-0

4) For me, there is an interesting link between the massive western intervention and "aid" and the growing fundamentalism (religious intolerance) which have become political platforms for right-wing dominant groups that seem to be gaining hold of power in some countries. Take, for example, the worsening lot of indigenuous peoples, dalits, and other minorities in South Asia with massacres, seizure of property without compensation, the concentration of wealth and power in fewer and fewer hands. Despite these gross violations, the status of some countries at the UN is about to be enhanced. India is one example. A genuine review process for impacts of interventions and globalization development "projects" (Sardar Sarovar Dam in India, James Bay project in Canada) on disadavantaged groups should be par for the course if it isn't already. Another model of sustaible development projects could be proposed although I am not sure who players could be.

5) In Canada, Aboriginal peoples, immigrants and refugees have experienced contact and settlement as a form of recolonization. A recent study shows very low participation rates, massive underemployment, high rates of poverty, lack of access to appropriate services or resources, exposure to high levels of psychological and physical violence, attacks on immigrants of colour in the media, etc.Fluid and mobile research/public education measures and recourses that across national boundaries would be an expectation. These would be linked to community-based actions of course not more reports.

6) I would hope that in working together we will not try to heirarchalize pain and suffering and claiming primacy but see that our realities intersect in all kinds of compounded and related ways. I hope we will see ourselves as fighting the same struggle in diffreent forms using different means but for the same ends. I think our battles are also internal in dealing with our own people who axquire some power by denying these realities. I guess I am talking about vision and worldviews:..