[WCAR] Report by UN rights expert notes rise in racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism

REPORT BY UN RIGHTS EXPERT NOTES RISE IN RACISM, XENOPHOBIA AND ANTI-SEMITISM
New York, Aug 21 2002  2:00PM

The increase in xenophobia in various parts of the world, the persistence
of racist propaganda on the Internet and the rise in anti-Semitism are the
principal tendencies of contemporary racism and related intolerance,
according to a United Nations human rights expert whose findings were
released today at UN Headquarters in New York.

"This phenomenon would appear to be the consequence of the electoral
successes of nationalist and extreme right parties in a number of countries
and to influence measures adopted with respect to immigration, especially
between countries of the South and those of the North," says Maurice
Glèlè-Ahanhanzo of Benin, Special Rapporteur of the Geneva-based UN
Commission on Human Rights.

"It may also be the consequence of the terrorist attacks of 11 September
2001, which seem to have engendered a stigmatization of Muslims and Arabs,
who are supposed to be hand in glove with the terrorists," he adds in the
report prepared in accordance with a March 2002 resolution of the UN
General Assembly on measures to combat contemporary forms of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

Mr. Glèlè-Ahanhanzo notes that there have been numerous allegations
complaining of the "rigorous treatment awaiting travellers from countries
of the South in the consulates of the North, of the extreme selectiveness
in granting visas and of the frequent instances of racial profiling in the
airports of the latter countries."

Combined with the security measures designed to combat terrorism, the
measures against immigration now give the impression that an "iron curtain"
is falling between the North and the South of the planet, he says.

The report also points to the fact that in parallel with the worsening of
tension in the Middle East, anti-Semitic acts, including harm to property
and people and attacks on Jewish institutions and places of worship, have
increased in number.

"Combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance requires conviction, consistency, perseverance and
determination," Mr. Glèlè-Ahanhanzo says. "It is imperative that everyone
everywhere, without any distinction, through education and in all humility,
should internalize human rights, especially the equal dignity of the human
person, and should practise them in his or her daily life in social
relationships, at both the national and the international levels."