March 2020 Newsletter

March 21 International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Background: March 21, 1960, police killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid "pass laws." Proclaiming the Day in 1966, the General Assembly called on the international community to boost its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination. In 1979 the UN General Assembly decided that a week of solidarity with the peoples struggling against racism and racial discrimination, beginning on March 21, would be organized annually in all member States. Racial and ethnic discrimination occur on a daily basis, hindering progress for millions of people around the world. Racism and intolerance can take various forms — from denying individuals the basic principles of equality to fueling ethnic hatred— all of which destroys lives and fractures communities. The fight against racism is a matter of priority for the international community. Racial Discrimination 6