Combating Racism and Racial Discrimination in Europe
In today's world, contemporary forms of racism and racial discrimination are complex and disturbing. In Europe, these issues increasingly lie at the heart of political and social concerns. Faced with persistent expressions of racism and xenophobia, the Council of Europe Member States have, for several years now, been taking firm and sustained action to combat these trends.
The New Untouchables Crime: Punishment and Race in America
The current American prison system is a leviathan unmatched in human history. Never before has a supposedly free country denied basic liberty to so many of its citizens. In December 2006, some 2.25 million people were being held in the nearly 5,000 prisons and jails scattered across America's urban and rural landscapes.
Equal Opportunity In Education : Eliminating Discrimination Against Roma
n 2002, on my way to the United States Congress where a hearing on the education of Roma was being held, I was asked by the taxi driver where I come from and what was the purpose of my trip. I told him I was going to testify before the Congress about the problems faced by Roma in education.
Double Standards of Justice: The Case of Gernarlow Wilson
Four years ago, in Douglasville, Georgia, a 17-year-old high school senior made a fateful mistake, one that would cost a surprising price. During a New Year's Eve celebration, Gernarlow Wilson participated in consensual sexual act with a 15-year-old girl.
Eliminating Racial Discrimination: The Challenges of Prevention and Enforcement of Prohibition
States Parties undertake to prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, colour or national or ethnic origin, to equality before the law, according to the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, notably in the enjoyment of political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights.
Racial Discrimination and the Legal System: The Recent Lessons of Louisiana
Racial discrimination is widespread in the legal system of the United States. A recent example from Louisiana will help underscore the statistics that follow.
State-led Efforts in Eliminating Racial Discrimination: The Experience in Spain
There is no denying the existence of racism in Europe. We pride ourselves on having advanced democratic systems, a legal framework that protects and guarantees the rights of the individual and a welfare State that supplies basic services to all citizens, equally.
Looking Beyond Durban: The Significance of Racial Discrimination on the International Human Rights Agenda
Resistance to discrimination goes back to the origin of the human rights concept. It was the rejection of differentiation of people on the basis of national, ethnic or social origin, religion and gender, as well as resistance against slavery, that marked the history of human rights.
Looking Forward To The Future: Europe's Societies Are Undergoing Change
At the end of my nine years as Director of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia -- now the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights -- I would like to share my experience in addressing racial discrimination.
The Ideology of Racism: Misusing Science to Justify Racial Discrimination
In his exceptionally insightful book, Racism: A Short History, Stanford University historian George M. Fredrickson notes the paradox that notions of human equality were the necessary precondition to the emergence of racism.
Racial Discrimination and Miscegenation: The Experience in Brazil
In 1888, Brazil, with a mostly black and mixed race or mulatto population, was the last country in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery. During more than 300 years of slavery in the Americas, it was the largest importer of African slaves, bringing in seven times as many African slaves to the country, compared to the United States.
'Warming of the Climate System Is Unequivocal': Highlights of the Fourth IPCC Assessment Report
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1988 to recognize the problem of potential global climate change.
Business and Climate Change: Rising Public Awareness Creates Significant Opportunity
Imagine the scene: the year is 2027-China is responsible for 15 per cent of the world's energy consumption; California has imposed permanent water rationing; relief agencies warn that late rains again raise the spectre of widespread hunger in southern Africa; and cases of malaria are being reported among holidaymakers in Greece and Turkey.
Before The Next Disaster Strikes: The Humanitarian Impact Of Climate Change
Climate change is an issue so large in scope and so potentially overwhelming in importance that it might be helpful for us to pause and focus our attention on practical steps we can take to adapt to a warming planet and reduce its negative impacts.
A Future To Look Forward To: Youth and Students Campaign for a Sustainable Future
The Sustainable Future Campaign is a programme designed by an international team, in coordination with the United Nations Youth and Student Association of Austria, to provide educational platforms to engage global youth and encourage environmental development efforts.