Cities must unite to fight racism and discrimination

Matale Mayor tells regional conference

Matale Mayor, Hilmy Mohamed in a speech at the Regional Conference of Cities for Inclusive Urban Society held at Peak Imperial Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand from August 2-4, called for a coalition of cities against racism and discrimination in Asia and the Pacific.

Addressing the gathering he said: "The international of coalition of cities against racism is an initiative launched by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2004 to establish a network of cities interested in sharing experiences to improve their policies and strategies to counter racism, xenophobia, discrimination and exclusion for greater urban social inclusion.

"There is a need for international conventions, recommendations and declarations elaborated at the upstream level to be ratified and implemented by the States. At the same time, it is important to involve actors on the ground, including the targets of discrimination, to make sure that those international and national instruments are applied and that they respond to concrete problems.

"UNESCO has chosen cities to be the privileged space linking upstream and downstream actions. The role of city authorities as policy-makers at the local level is considered key to creating dynamic synergies to address problems of racism and discrimination, and to promote human rights,” Mr. Mohamed said.

Objective of the Coalition

This network aims at involving cities in a common struggle against racism through an International Coalition. During the first phase of this initiative, regional coalitions are being created in Africa, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Arab States, Europe and Asia and the Pacific. The objective is to take into account the special contexts and priorities of each region. Under the coordination of a "Lead City", each regional coalition will have its own plan of action composed of ten commitments. The cities that become signatories to the Coalitions will agree to integrate the Plan of Action into their municipal strategies and policies. An international coalition linking the six regional Coalitions will be launched in 2007.

Matale has been selected as the lead city in the SAARC region and Mayor Mohamed has been elected the Deputy Chairman of the Forum.

The role of civil actors will also be essential at a later stage after the adoption of the action plan by the Municipality.

"The effective implementation of different activities will only be possible through close cooperation with civil society organizations. A well established partnership with all stake holders will be crucial to successfully cope with the complex issue of discrimination," Mayor Mohamed added..