Ελληνικά21st of March, International Day Against Racial Discrimination
On this day, back in 1960, police opened fired and killed 69 protestors in Sharpeville, South Africa. Those people were at a peaceful demonstration against the apartheid pass laws. Six years later, the UN proclaimed this day calling on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.
Today in 2017, racial profiling and incitement to hatred, including in the context of migration, is something that still happens, more often than we would like to think about. This is why the efforts to promote human rights, equality and diversity are a constant fight.
On this day, we have to remember that every person is entitled to human rights. “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity”, as stated by Nelson Mandela, and the rights to equality and non-discrimination are cornerstones of the human rights law.
Even if this world is clearly not the best place to live freely as equal citizens, it is the only one we have. And no matter how much each one of us wishes for respect to diversity, it is only united that we can achieve an actual change. Year by year, the human rights movement becomes bigger and bigger. That looks promising and optimistic about the future. But this community has to take a united and concrete stand, making their voice stronger and louder.
The fight is long, difficult and the results are slow. But we’ve come a long way, and to give up now would be a disrespect to all those who fought for the rights we have today. Take a stand for human rights, eliminate racial discrimination, celebrate diversity!
