Franchise registrations in Saudi Arabia surge 866% over 3 years    Lulu Saudi Arabia celebrates its 15th anniversary with the grand launch of 'Super Fest 2024'    Cristiano Ronaldo's double powers Al Nassr to 3-1 win over Al Gharafa in AFC Champions League    Culture minister tours Saudi pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka    Al Ahli edges Al Ain 2-1, bolsters perfect start in AFC Champions League Elite    Saud Abdulhamid makes history as first Saudi player in Serie A    Saudi Cabinet to hold special budget session on Tuesday    King Salman orders extension of Citizen's Account Program and additional support for a full year    Al-Falih: 1,238 foreign investors obtain premium residency in Saudi Arabia    Several dead as Storm Bert wreaks havoc across Britain    Irish PM apologizes for walking away from care worker    Most decorated Australian Olympian McKeon retires    Adele doesn't know when she'll perform again after tearful Vegas goodbye    'Pregnant' for 15 months: Inside the 'miracle' pregnancy scam    Hezbollah fires rocket barrages into Israel after deadly Beirut strikes    Ukraine losing ground in Russia's Kursk region, says military source    Do cigarettes belong in a museum?    Saudi Arabia to host 28th Annual World Investment Conference in Riyadh    Riyadh Emir inaugurates International Conference on Conjoined Twins in Riyadh    Katy Perry v Katie Perry: Singer wins right to use name in Australia    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Collective commitment needed to end the 'poison' of racism: Azoulay
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 22 - 03 - 2021

With the COVID-19 pandemic providing fertile ground for the resurgence of racism and discrimination, the head of the UN's educational and cultural agency, UNESCO, called on Monday for countries to stand united in what she described as "these testing times".
Addressing the Paris-based agency's Global Forum on Racism, Director-General Audrey Azoulay said racism "is the calling card of populist and xenophobic groups", while hate speech is becoming increasingly pervasive on social media.
"This poison is insidious, it's far-reaching; it is ever ready to rear its head again, as we've seen over the last months. And this poison requires us to make a collective commitment," she said, speaking in French.
Rights violations rooted in discrimination
The pandemic has also exposed inequalities that are deeply rooted in discrimination, a subject the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, highlighted in her keynote address to the online forum.
She said decades of unequal healthcare and inadequate living conditions have resulted in disproportionate health impacts and death among people of African descent, ethnic minorities, and other marginalized groups.
Discrimination is at the core of many, if not all, human rights violations, she added.
"So, it is clear to me that addressing the challenge of racial discrimination, and the social and economic inequality founded in it, is a very important way to recover better from this crisis: to recovering to societies that are truly and sustainably more equal, resilient and just," she said.
Be the change
The Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker, a UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation, shared his experience as an African American who grew up in an era of violent arbitrary arrests, segregated schools "and countless other humiliating injustices".
Yet, just eight years ago he was stopped and searched for no reason while at a market.
"Countries have laws banning racism and discrimination, but institutions don't change overnight," he said.
UNESCO is working to make these changes reality as Azoulay outlined in her address, stating that fighting racism is part of its DNA and history.
The UN agency has been acting chiefly in the area of education, and in media and information literacy, teaching people critical skills that can be used to counter hate speech.
UNESCO programs, including a project on the TransAtlantic slave route, help to improve knowledge about this dark period in history while also contributing to understanding of contemporary inequalities.
Azoulay further revealed that the agency is also helping to develop awareness and policies around "even the most insidious forms of racism", such as biases in algorithms used in Artificial Intelligence.
"We do know the paths we must take," she said, this time speaking in English. "Now we must take action together to fight the construct of racism, to develop anti-racist policies, to fight stereotypes, to foster diversity." — UN News


Clic here to read the story from its source.