A Road Map For Tolerance

Context: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21 provides an opportunity to explore the causes and consequences of modern racism and renew commitment to combat discrimination.

Kofi Annan on countering racism:

 “Our mission is to confront ignorance with knowledge, bigotry with tolerance, and isolation with the outstretched hand of generosity. Racism can, will, and must be defeated.”

Forms of racism

• Becoming complex and covert: Anonymity of the internet allowed racist stereotypes and inaccurate information to spread online. E.g. -
  • At the onset of the pandemic, traffic to hate sites and specific posts against Asians grew by 200% in the U.S.
  • In India and Sri Lanka, social media groups were used to call for social and economic boycotts of religious minorities amid false information accusing them of spreading the virus.
• Continuing structural forms of discrimination: E.g. Micro-aggressions and techno-racism - as facial recognition programmes can misidentify and target racialised communities.
• Prejudiced attitudes and discrimi­natory acts: Aggravating existing inequalities in societies.
  • A study published by The Lancet highlighted the greater vulnerability of ethnic minorities during the pandemic.
  • The World Health Organization has cautioned on the dangers of profiling and stigmatising communities that can lead to fear and the subsequent concealment of cases.
  • For e.g., Women and girls also carry a double burden of being exposed to racial and gender-­based prejudices.

Way forward

• UNESCO’s new proposed road map to tolerance: Calls for a multisectoral effort to tackle root causes of racism through anti-racist laws, policies and programmes.
  • Through the promotion of education, sciences, culture, and intercultural dialogues.
  • Institutionalised approach: E.g. The International Coalition of Inclusive and Sustainable Cities provides an additional platform for city-level planning and a laboratory for good practices in the fight against racism.
• Individual responsibility: A global culture of tolerance, equality and anti-discrimination is built first and foremost in the minds of women and men.