United Nations: Acknowledging that racism also exists in the UN, its chief Antonio Guterres has called for an end to the plague” of racial discrimination as he expressed shock at the murderous act of police brutality that killed African-American George Floyd and sparked global protests amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The UN Secretary-General made the comments at a town hall meeting held last week. His statement was released on Tuesday along with a letter on racism Guterres wrote to the UN staff.
Now, if racism is something that exists everywhere, racism also exists within the United Nations We have very robust policies in relation to discrimination, harassment, abuse of authority But we have not paid enough attention within the organisation to the specific question of racist bias and racist discrimination, Guterres said during the meeting. Guterres said there is a need to have an honest conversation on racism within the United Nations, where there have been inclusion dialogues but those have been generic in nature and not specific.
The UN chief said he has called for a plan of action for a one-year-debate on racism within the UN that is open, free-flowing and without any restriction.
The position of the United Nations on racism is crystal clear: this scourge violates the United Nations Charter and debases our core values. Every day, in our work across the world, we strive to do our part to promote inclusion, justice, dignity and combat racism in all its manifestations, Guterres said in the letter. (PTI)
