Joint Assembly of the Convention concluded between the African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Community (ACP-EU) - Declaration on the International Day against Racism
C 263/56 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 13. 9. 2000 ANNEX IV DECLARATION ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST RACISM Abuja, 21 March 2000 On the occasion of the International Day against Racism, we, the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Assembly, hereby affirm our united opposition to all forms of racism. We declare our common conviction that racism is abhorrent as a denial of the common heritage of all humankind, and a contradiction of the fundamental principle of the equality of the individual. We believe that government and society have a common obligation to confront racism wherever it occurs. We must act to ensure that laws are not infected by racist ideas; that the institutions of state respect and uphold the principle of the equality of human beings; and that all children may benefit from an education which nurtures a spirit of tolerance and understanding. The world has witnessed the slave trade and the Holocaust in the past, and racially motivated violence is still causing human suffering on a devastating scale today. Mindful of such tragedies, we must redouble our efforts to bring those responsible for such violence to justice, and to prevent all incitement to racial hatred. We look forward to the World Conference against Racism which will convene in South Africa in 2001. We call for strong support from international donors in general, and from the EU in particular, for the regional conferences which are planned in preparation of this event. All participants must work together to ensure that the Conference contributes to eradicating the blight of racism, which in our view can have no place in the twenty-first century. Louis Serge CLAIR Co-president John CORRIE Co-president