unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (09/24/89)
ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT OF G.A. AT SEMINAR ON CHURCH AND RACISM
Posting Date: 09/24/89 Source: UNITEX Network, Hoboken, NJ, USA
Host: (201) 795-0733 ISSN: 1043-7932
Following is the text of the address delivered on Thursday, 21
September, by Joseph N. Garba (Nigeria), President of the
forty-fourth session of the General Assembly, to the Seminar on
the Church and Racism:
I wish to thank you sincerely for the honour you have done me by
inviting me to share with you some of my thoughts at such an
important Seminar on Racism. I have been advised that as
President of the forty-fourth session of the General Assembly, I
would be called upon from time to time to address many
gatherings devoted to examining the human condition and how to
ameliorate the problem that beset our world. In doing so for
the first time, I am particularly happy that it is at this
Seminar sponsored by the Catholic Church. I say so, not only
because I am a practising Catholic, but also because the theme
of the Seminar, which is: "The Church and Racism", is of
crucial importance to expanding the frontiers of human
understanding and racial harmony, which, in turn, could
contribute postively to promoting peace and justice in the
world.
Partly out of ignorance and fear, and partly for
self-preservation, the human tendency through the ages has been
to be wary, if not xenophobic, of other persons and cultures
outside one's immediate environment. That could be why racism
and racial bigotry are as old as humanity. However, the
perception and manifestation of racism has been different
through the ages. Thus, in the history of some ancient
civilizations, racism and racial discrimination were practised
and justified more, in the terms of perceived levels of
civilization, clearly based on ethno-centrism, and conquest, and,
to a lesser extent, religious persuasion, than in the colour of
the skin. Today, however, due to the history and legacy of the
despicable slave trade, colonialism and its attendant ills of
economic exploitation, human degradation, and denial of
fundamental human rights and human dignity, racism has assumed a
new dimension. That dimension is so ominous that unless the
international community as well as States and individuals
exercise great understanding, tolerance, sympathy and care, the
practices of racism and racial discrimination could trigger a
racial war and thus threaten international peace and security.
In this context, I should like to quote his Holiness, Pope John
Paul II who, at the occasion of granting me audience in my
capacity as Chairman of the United Nations Special Committee
against Apartheid, in July 1984 said the following: "Man's
creation by God 'in his own image' (Gen.1:27) confers upon every
human person an eminent dignity; it also postulates the
fundamental equality of all human beings. For the Church, this
equality, which is rooted in man's being, acquires the dimension
of an altogether special brotherhood through the Incarnation of
the Son of God, whose sacrifice redeemed all people. In the
Redemption effected by Jesus Christ, the Church sees a further
basis of the rights and duties of the human person. Hence, every
form of discrimination based on race, whether occasional or
systematically practised, and whether it is aimed at individuals
or whole racial groups, is absolutely unacceptable."
There could be no better example of this sword of Damocles
hanging over the world today than the policies and practices of
apartheid, while acknowledging the many other aspects of racial
bigotry in our imperfect world. Apartheid, an outdated economic
and social system built on discredited theories and doctrines
about a superior race, is institutionalized racism. It is
sustained by the very crude and base instincts as well as
mindless brutality. Thus, apartheid represents the most
pervasive denial of human rights and fundamental freedoms
practised in any human society. In the course of my work as
Chairman of the United Nations Special Committee against
Apartheid, I have followed the anti-apartheid campaign more
closely and thus got to know more about the tragic consequences
of that evil and vile system called apartheid. In turn, I have
felt deep outrage and been frustrated by the sad fact that, so
far, apartheid has thrived and defied every conceivable effort
by decent peoples of goodwill within the international
community, Governments and institutions alike to eradicate it.
For its part, the United Nations has been considering the
question of apartheid for nearly 43 years, nearly as long as the
United Nations has been in existence. That apartheid still
remains a blot on the conscience of mankind is not due to the
lack of sustained action by the United Nations, its agencies,
voluntary agencies, individuals or Governments. We have all come
to realize that apartheid thrives because of the stubborn
support, comfort and sustenance given to successive South
African regimes by Governments, individuals and powerful
interest groups of some influential nations. We all know the
different reasons behind such support. It bears repeating,
however, that for some supporters it is greed -- greed in
exploiting South Africa's mineral resources and the conditions
of exploitative slave labour under which most of the wealth in
that country and neighbouring Namibia are created. For others,
it is geo-political and strategic considerations. And yet for
others, it could well be thinly veiled residual racism.
It is regrettable that racism and racial discrimination remain
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