A View from the Edge
By Laura Mariko Cheifetz

What do you get when you combine more than 2,300 representatives from 163 governments, nearly 4,000 representatives of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and about 1,100 media representatives? Add a pinch of spring air and nine days of meetings in South Africa and you have chaos and grace on the path to a world free of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. The third World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR) in Durban, South Africa challenged the international community, both state and civil society, to envision just such a world.

Durban is located on the eastern coast of South Africa in the state of KwaZulu-Natal on the Indian Ocean. The location for the WCAR was a deliberate choice — a place symbolically poised on the edge of a newly envisioned world. The people of South Africa are varied in racial and cultural backgrounds, including Africans (blacks), Afrikaners (whites), coloreds (mixed race), Indians and others. Apartheid fell in 1994 and now South Africa has the most progressive constitution of any nation on earth, although de facto apartheid persists in many ways.

Third Time's the Charm

The first two World Conferences Against Racism took place in Geneva in 1978 and 1983. They were focused on policy and condemned apartheid as a crime against humanity. The United States government boycotted both conferences.

The first two World Conferences Against Racism took place in Geneva in 1978 and 1983. They were focused on policy and condemned apartheid as a crime against humanity. The United States government boycotted both conferences. In 1997, the United Nations General Assembly recognized that racism and racial discrimination persist, and called for a forum to examine new and emerging forms of racism and racial discrimination, which is why this third world conference included "xenophobia and related intolerance" in the title.

The first event of this conference was a youth summit, where young people from all over the world participated in informal meetings, heard speakers and asked questions of panelists. The contentious result was a Youth Declaration. Next came the nongovernmental organizations forum, where work was organized into thematic commissions, related to the various caucuses that had been working together on particular issues, and the result was a Declaration and a Programme for Action in which victims gave voice to their experiences in a somewhat controversial document.

Two working groups were established to deal with these documents. The most contentious language was discussed in informal consultations among governments during lunch and evening hours, but governments spent so much time arguing about procedure and language that formal meeting times were extended to midnight. The three hot issues were:

• lists of the grounds for racism, victimized groups and multiple grounds of discrimination (such as gender and HIV/AIDS status);
• colonialism and slavery possibly being declared crimes against humanity, and a request for reparations; and
• the Middle East, with paragraphs in the declarations referring to the Israel/Palestine issue not being approved, but bracketed and included as an attachment to the final document.

The United States government walked out midway through the conference, with Israel following suit, after the group of governments from Africa issued a strong statement supporting international reparations language. This was not an unexpected development, since the United States had been threatening to withdraw. For some this was a relief; for many it was a disappointment.

Beyond Durban

Conference participants who went home on or around September 11th returned to a renewed sense of hopelessness. The events that followed the terrorist attacks, such as the violence and hate rhetoric directed towards Muslims and Arabs, were strangely incongruous with the fleeting post-Durban sense of hope.

The United Nations' High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, said the meetings in Durban began the process of shaping a global movement to end racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. The very existence of dialogue and of such a movement is deeply encouraging, since our shrinking world requires a movement that transcends national boundaries. Conference participants who went home on or around September 11th returned to a renewed sense of hopelessness. The events that followed the terrorist attacks, such as the violence and hate rhetoric directed towards Muslims and Arabs, were strangely incongruous with the fleeting post-Durban sense of hope.

We have a staggering amount of work to do before we can come to the table as equals. For example, Zulu dancers were hired to stand outside certain hotels and perform traditional dances for the viewing pleasure of conference attendees. A disproportionate percentage of the participants in the NGO Forum came from the United States, while poorer countries were less well represented. The gender analysis of the event was weak at best. These and other instances reminded us constantly of the work that needs to be done.

However, some extremely effective organization happened around the issue of caste, a system of inequality and segregation based on occupation and descent in South Asia, parts of Africa and Japan. After the United States and Israel walked out, several rallies took place calling the United States government to accountability. Many marginalized peoples were able to voice their concerns and gain access to government delegates. In light of these efforts, Durban was a very good beginning.

Despite all the logistical difficulties posed by the limited capacity of Durban, the venue was appropriate. It was winter when we arrived in South Africa, and spring when we left. This is a nation in the midst of a struggle to recreate itself in a way that citizens of other countries can never fully comprehend.

Despite all the logistical difficulties posed by the limited capacity of Durban, the venue was appropriate. It was winter when we arrived in South Africa, and spring when we left. This is a nation in the midst of a struggle to recreate itself in a way that citizens of other countries can never fully comprehend. Yet we are all called to live into the painful and liberating recreation of a world in which all of God's children have enough and are valued equally, regardless of their gender, race, class, religion, caste, sexual orientation, ability, language, HIV/AIDS status and citizenship. For "On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines… And [God] will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations, [God] will swallow up death forever. (Isaiah 25:6-8)"

Laura Mariko Cheifetz is a junior at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois. She is a member of St. James Presbyterian Church in Bellingham, Washington and under care of North Puget Sound Presbytery. She can be reached by email at lcheifetz@hotmail.com

This article was originally published in the January/February 2002 issue of Horizons, the magazine of Presbyterian Women. To order call 800/524-2612 or visit www.pcusa.org/horizons

For more articles and reflections on the World Conference Against Racism, click here.