• I. The Informal Government Meeting in Geneva, 15-16 January 2001
• II. The Africa PrepCom Meeting for NGOs in Dakar, 20-21 January 2001
• III. The Africa PrepCom Meeting for Governments in Dakar, 22-24 January 2001
• IV. The NGO Forum Planning Meeting for the Americas in Quito, 13-16 March 2001

The following files are attached:

1. The final NGO Declaration from Dakar
2. The draft Government Declaration from Dakar
3. Invitation for the Americas Meeting in Quito
4. Registration form for the Quito Meeting

Key Information or Action Needed

1. The dates of the Inter-Sessional Meeting and the May PrepCom Might Change – There was a long debate on this point during the Informal Meeting. The WCAR Bureau will make the final decision, hopefully this week. If they change, the dates they are considering is 7-11 May for the Inter-Sessional and 28 May – 8 June for the 2nd PrepCom.
2. Registration for the Quito Meeting is due 15 February. Letter of Invitation and Application are attached.
3. The Draft Declaration and Programme of Action - I asked Robert Husbands at the end of the Informal Meeting if it is possible to submit specific language to be included in these documents. He said he would consider it, but could not make any promises. What is needed is specific language (two or three sentences, not a page talking about the importance of the issue) and it is good if you send it to him by fax and e-mail. His fax number dialing from the United States is 011 41 22 917-9022. His e-mail address is husbands@un.org. Please note, several states complained that they had submitted comments and suggestions by the August 15th deadline and it was not in the document. It is still worth a try, but again, they only want specific short language at this point.

The Informal Government Meeting that was originally scheduled for 19 & 20 October, was finally held 15& 16 January 2001. The 1st PrepCom had requested that such a meeting be held to further discuss the themes of the WCAR and the sub-themes. With so many meetings scheduled during the preparatory process for the WCAR, many NGOs have to prioritize which meetings to attend. Only approximately 50 NGOs attended this meeting, but most governments participated. In fact, it seemed like a full Commission on Human Rights meeting given the number of governments present. There were only two participants from US NGOs; Douglas Scott from the African American Policy Forum (AAPF) and myself, Deborah Robinson, from International Possibilities Unlimited (IPU). Given what happened at this meeting (described below), it is important that a “critical mass” of NGOs to be present at all preparatory meetings.

Agenda and Procedures

1. Opening remarks, procedures
2. Draft Declaration and Draft Programme of Action
3. Possible sub-themes to the themes agreed to for the World Conference
4. Organization of work of the open-ended inter-sessional working group
5. Information note by the secretariat regarding developments in the preparations for the World Conference
6. Round up of the Informal Meeting

During the morning session, NGOs were informed that it was possible for them to make oral interventions. This caught us completely off guard as we were under the impression that NGO statements were not allowed at informal government meetings. We then had to scramble to write, type and copy statements for the afternoon session.

Item 2
The High Commissioner’s office had submitted several documents related to this item, including a compilation of suggestions (only in the language in which they were submitted) made by States, UN bodies, specialized agencies, national institutions, and NGOs on the content of the draft declaration and programme of action. Participants also had before them the final documents from Strassburg and Santiago, as well as the 1978 and 1983 Programmes of Action. Nigeria objected to Item 2 of the agenda because neither Africa nor Asia/Middle East had had their regional PrepCom. Others felt that the 8 months since the 1st PrepCom was too long a time already not to have had face-to-face discussions on these issues. Since all the documents were still not yet available in all of the languages, one delegate said this meeting would have to be more informal than usual; an “Informal Informal.” Finally it was decided that Item 2 would just be “an exchange of views by participants on the contributions received for the draft declaration and draft programme of action.”

One of the major debates on this item concerned how much time and focus the documents should place on the historical causes and manifestations of racism (including slavery). The US government’s position, of course was that it should be “forward looking” and should not “linger in the past”. Other states recognized the need to acknowledge and understand the past so that we can move forward.

Item 3
This item began in the morning session and continued the rest of the day, only finishing after 3 interventions on the second day. The European Union and the United States made very controversial interventions, although the former pales in comparison to the bold and brazen statement that the US made. What was striking about the EU statement on sub-themes was what they omitted. Under theme two (victims of racism and racial discrimination) they did not include black people, people of African descent or descendants of the African slave trade AT ALL!!!! I was reminded that almost a year before during the Expert Seminar on victims of racism and racial discrmination, black people/descendants of the slave trade were almost absent from that discussion as well.

The outrage over the EU statement was only surpassed by the brazen statement made by the United States. In comments that prefaced their suggested sub-themes, the US said (and this was still when Clinton was president), the US “has no regret, takes no responsibility and will not apologize” for slavery!!!!! It was the boldest, most brazen statement I have ever heard. She (Cheryl Sim read the statement. She is the Political Counselor at the US Mission in Geneva. The Ambassador did not even read the statement) continued to say that they will not support slavery as being a crime against humanity and will not support reparations or compensation even as a sub-theme under WCAR Theme 4!!!! What was even more amazing, only country (Cuba) spoke out against this virulent statement. Although Ms. Sim was reading from a text, she said that something happened to the computer and they were not able to make copies (yeah, right). She promised to bring copies the next day. On Tuesday, she only passed out the suggested sub-themes without the text that prefaced them!

African and African Diaspora NGO Meeting
On the first day of the meeting, I asked several Africans who participated in the Botswana meeting how it went. I was told that there were major problems in the meeting both logistical and substantive. Given the problems with logistics, communication and lack of money, the “up-shot” was there was great concern about what was needed for African NGOs to effectively participate in the WCAR preparatory process. With the change of dates for the African PrepCom, it was unclear at that time how many NGOs would be in Dakar. In addition, several of the people I spoke with did not know of the debate and meeting for Africans and Blacks of the diaspora that will be held in Vienna in April. There was a general consensus that if there is not a dramatic and immediate solution to the crisis, there will not be effective African NGO participation in the upcoming preparatory meetings and in the World Conference itself.

I asked if we could meet that evening just to share information and see what was needed. Ten of us met for 2 ½ hours that evening. There was interest in writing a joint statement concerning the issue of reparations/compensation and the crisis facing African NGOs in term of participating effectively in the preparatory process. In relation to the latter, there was a call to “fast track” applications from NGOs to attend the Dakar meeting as was done in Chile. Instead of submitting all the information required for accreditation and it taking 2-3 months, the process could be completed in one week.

Joint Statement by African and African Diaspora NGOs
Douglas Scott of AAPF wrote a powerful statement on the reparations/compensatory measures issue that also blasted the US and EU for their statements the previous day. We met the group the next morning to go over the statement and make corrections. Deborah Robinson of IPU read the joint statement. This intervention can also be found on the US NGO Website. The statement was extremely well received! In fact, after we read the statement, especially since it came after a long discussion on the dates of the Inter-Sessional, there was silence. Someone from an NGO that was sitting next to us said, “Look, they’re in shock! They can’t believe what they heard.” We were mobbed afterwards and passed out over 120 copies.

NGO Meeting
The Conference of NGOs in consultative status with the UN (CONGO) called an NGO meeting for Tuesday from 1:30- 3:00. The purpose was to get an update from the NGO Liaison Officer Laurie Wiseburg, receive updates from various members of regional WCAR Coordinating Committees and share information. Laurie gave an overview of the two previous regional PrepCom that have taken place. It was interesting to note that while only 200 NGOs were allowed to attend the European PrepCom, over 1,500 attended the Americas PrepCom in Chile. Given various logistical problems and lack of accreditation, it was not clear how many NGOs would participate in Dakar. Laurie reported that the Botswana meeting held 8-13 January was frought with many logistical problems. Six people, including three from the Africa steering committee arrived in Botswana after the conference was over. There was also frustration because the NGOs sent a letter to the Africa Group requesting a “fast-track accreditation”, but the governments said no. It must be remembered though, that the request came just one week prior to the Dakar meeting. The venue of the Asia/Middle East PrepCom in Tehran still has not been set and the high Commissioner’s Office does not know how visas will be issued, nor if women will be forced to wear a veil. The NGO meeting will be held 17-18 February. There will be a 10-point agenda for the government meeting (19-21 February), which will basically cover procedures and the 5 Themes. NGOs will have Observer status, but will be allowed to make one 5-minute statement per agenda item, with a maximum of three statements.

Updates were given from the Americas and Europe, but the balance of the meeting was spent talking about the crisis that African NGOs face in being able to effectively participate in the preparatory process for the WCAR. Many African NGOs do not have ECOSOC status and have not applied for special accreditation for the WCAR. Those that are accredited, do not have to money to go to meetings. Communication within the region is difficult, as is internet access.

Written and Oral Statements for Inter-Sessional Meeting
I talked to Robert Husbands after the Informal Meeting. Although the 10-week deadline to submit written interventions to the Inter-Sessional Meeting had passed, I was wondering if it was at all still possible. He said the 10-week rule is not being adhered to.

Comments and Suggestions for the Draft Declaration and Programme of Action
I also asked if it is possible to submit specific language to be included in these documents. He said he would consider it, but could not make any promises. What is needed is specific language (two or three sentences, not a page talking about the importance of the issue) and it is good if you send it to him by fax and e-mail. His fax number dialing from the United States is 011 41 22 917-9022. His e-mail address is husbands@un.org. Please note, several states complained that they had submitted comments and suggestions by the August 15th deadline and it was not in the document. It is still worth a try, but again, they only want specific short language at this point.

The NGO Meeting was held 19- 20 January in Dakar, Senegal. There were tremendous logistical problems because this meeting and the governmental meeting overlapped with the Paris-Dakar Car Rally and most of the hotel rooms in Dakar were booked. Participants stayed in hotels all over Dakar, most being 30-45 minutes away from the venue. Over 150 participants attended the NGO meeting. The two-day meeting was divided into plenary sessions and workshops. Workshops were held on the five themes of the conference, as well as one on globalization/migration/xenophobia, and one on double discrimination/ethnicity/conflicts.

NGO Declaration
The NGO Declaration from the Africa PrepCom is attached. A full report of the meeting will include summaries from the workshops and plenaries, as well as both the declaration from Botswana and the final declaration from Dakar. I would think that RADDHO will have the responsibility of finalizing that.

Africa Region Coordinating Committee
A major objective of the NGO meeting was to select the permanent Africa Region Coordinating Committee. As with the Americas region, 12 places were allotted. The Africa region decided to divide into 5 sub-regions, Africans in the diaspora in Europe, Africans in the diaspora in the Americas, and 5 sectors (Portuguese Language countries, Gender, Human Rights Networks, Minorities & Indigenous and Regional Research Institutes. The following people/NGOs were selected:

East Africa		Mr. Ramsing Hurrynag
		Mauritius
West Africa		Mr. Alioune Tine
		Senegal
North Africa		Mr. Said El Bekri
		Morocco
Central Africa		Ms. Princess J. Happy Aziah
		Cameroun
Southern Africa		Ms. Alice Mogwe
		Botswana
Diaspora Americas		Mr. Tandia Bakary
		USA
Diaspora Europe		? To be filled
		USA
Portuguese Languages		Not enough there,
		the CC will decide on process
Gender		Ms. Stella Makanya
		Zimbabwe
Human Rights Network		Prof. Halidou Ouedraogo
		Inter African Union of Human Rights, Burkina Faso
Minorities & Indigenous		Rev. Benon Mugarura
African Indigenous and Minority		Peoples Organization
		Rwanda
Regional Research Institute		Ms. Hanna Foster
		ACDHRS, Gambia

It should be noted that the steering committee refused to use one of the 12 slots for youth. There was considerable debate on this point, but the original 12 slots remained. It should also be noted that maybe only 4 of the 12 coordinators will be women.

Update on the NGO Forum
Mr. Major Kobese, Program Officer for the South African NGO Forum Secretariat gave an update on preparations. The NGO Forum Secretariat’s major role is coordination of activities for World NGO Forum. They will 1) coordinate the activities of an International Advisory Committee (IAC), 2) develop the program for the NGO Forum, and 3) coordinate (with the IAC) to write the 1st draft of the NGO Declaration and Programme of Action. They have several sub-committees (logistics, culture, media, substance) that operate under the National Preparatory Committee.

International Advisory Committee
This Committee will be comprised of 12 people; two from each of the four regions, two Indigenous and two youth. This Committee will make all policy decisions. Each Regional Coordination Committee will nominate 4-5 people to SANGOCO to be on the International Advisory Committee. From that list, SANGOCO will choose 2 people to serve.

NGO Forum Program
The Secretariat expects to have the program completed by the 2nd PrepCom. They emphasized that every organization has the opportunity to shape the program. As they expect 8,000 people, their goal is to keep people busy with many simultaneous activities. There will only be two activities in which everyone will be together; the Opening Ceremony and the Closing Ceremony. In between, there will be panels, workshops, roundtable discussion, concerts and other things that people may want to organize. The NGO Forum will take place in two venues; the Durban Stadium and City Hall in Durban. The Stadium will have lots of tents, it will be carpeted, and there will be lots of facilities.

If you want to organize any event, there is an application on their website (www.racism.org.za). They are planning events with a two-hour timeframe. Therefore, there may be 10 Workshops, 10 Caucuses, 10 panels, going on simultaneously for two hours, then a new set of workshops, panels, etc.

Workshops
Thousands of requests for workshops are expected. A committee will have to screen and make decisions on workshops. Input will also be made by the regional NGO Forum Planning Meetings that are taking place. Regional representation for the workshops is important; they don’t want workshops dominated by Europe and USA. In terms of the proposal for a workshop, it is important to include, its purpose and focus, who is going to run the workshop, who will speak, etc.

Speakers
The Secretariat is trying to identify people who can give keynote addresses, be facilitators, rapporteurs and resource persons. People making keynote addresses must be invited immediately. If you have recommendations of people in any of these categories, (but especially those who should make a keynote address) please submit to Major immediately their name, contact information and something about the person and why he/she should give a keynote address.

NGO Declaration and Programme of Action
The NGO documents from the Regional PrepComs will be used to create the first draft of the final NGO WCAR Declaration and Programme of Action. There will be 4 people working on the draft; one from the Secretariat and the 3 others are from the regions. They will consult with the regions as they develop the draft and they will take it to the International Advisory Committee for approval. In terms of a timeline, a final draft is expected to be ready and disseminated in at least three languages (English, Spanish and French) by the 2nd PrepCom in Geneva.

US NGO Participants at the Africa PrepCom (I hope I haven’t excluded anyone)

Tandia Bakary
Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Mauritania

Elise Donovan
International Possibilities Unlimited

Jerry Herman
American Friends Service Committee

Megan Cunningham
Columbia University Human Rights Institute

Pauline Muchina
World Council of Churches

Theeda Murphy
Race Relations Institute

Chike Kani Omo
Race Relations Institute

Deborah Robinson
International Possibilities Unlimited

Michele Stephenson
Columbia University Human Rights Institute

Bernadette Sullivan
Franciscain International

Ife Williams
United Methodist Church/Women’s Division

Raymond Winbush
Race Relations Institute

III. Africa PrepCom – Governmental Meeting

The government meeting also had to contend with logistical problems, particularly in terms of hotel accommodations. There were several major speeches during the Opening Session of the PrepCom; Mrs. Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights/General Secretary of the WCAR, the Secretary General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), and the President of Senegal His Excellency Mr. Abdoulaye Wade. Mrs. Mary Robinson’s speech can be found on the UN WCAR website under statements (go to www.unhchr.ch/html/racism/index.htm, click on statements, go to 22/01/2001 and click on Mary Robinson’s speech).

Opening Speech by the President of Senegal
Many participants were shocked at President Abdoulaye Wade’s opening plenary speech the first day of the governmental meeting. He said, “racism is unknown in Senegal.” After colonialsm, it has “vanished.” In terms of slavery, he said that racism did not create slavery, it only amplified it. He noted that many peoples/countries have practiced slavery including the Romans and Egyptians, Moors, etc.. He noted that it was an error to equate slavery with the transatlantic slave trade. Amaizingly, he emphasized that racism in the 21st century is not that big a deal. The major problems of the 21st century are human rights and democracy. We need to “stop weeping over the past and build to the future.” Steven Wagenseil of the U.S. delegation clapped enthusiastically when he then said we needed a “forward-looking” strategy. President Wade went on to explain how Africa is an “active player” in globalization. He pointed to the fact that Africans have done many great things and head international bodies, are heads of multinational corporations, etc. He warned that we shouldn’t turn the anti-racism fight into something bigger than it is. Again he stressed that “racism is almost dead.” He concluded his plenary speech during the opening of a preparatory meeting for the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, by cautioning us not to concoct our own forms of racism to fight racism. He stressed that the real problem was human rights and democracy.

Many of us were stunned! Why were we there if racism is dead? How could the President of Senegal and Ambassador Diallo (the chair of the WCAR) have such different views? After the speech, Steve Wagenseil came up to me said that the President “spoke some hard truths.” I didn’t quite see it that way. Members of the African diplomatic corps were taken completely off guard by the speech, especially in light of the draft declaration that they had developed and given the strong line the Africa Group took on racism, the transatlantic slave trade, etc in the 1st PrepCom. US Government Delegation Ms. Betty King (head of delegation), US Ambassador to ECOSOC Mr. Chris Camponovo, State Department Ms. Sharon Kotok, Interagency Task Force Mr. Howard Perlow, State Department Mr. Steve Wagenseil, State Department (another woman but I don’t know her name)

The Drafting Committee
The rest of the PrepCom was divided into two simultaneous sessions: a Plenary with running speeches and the Drafting Committee. NGOs and specialized agencies were allowed to sit in on the session of the Drafting Committee Monday afternoon. Non-African member states/governments (such as the US and Canada) were not allowed in the Drafting Committee. On Tuesday morning, the NGOs were assured that we could again sit in on the discussions, but at the beginning of the session, everyone except member states were asked to leave. They went into closed-session that last the rest of the PrepCom, except for 1 hour in which they allowed NGOs and others to make statements and suggest language.

The U.S. delegation was very unhappy, to say the least, that they could not sit in on the Drafting Committee. In fact, some believe that it was pressure from the US that resulted in everyone being kicked out of the Drafting Committee sessions. Some reasoned that the US delegation probably thought that it was indefensible for the African governments to allow NGOs in and not non-member states. Therefore, the African governments found it was easiest to go into closed session with only African member states.

The US delegation has been on a mission since the 1st PrepCom to thwart any recognition of the transatlantic slave trade as a crime against humanity. They have been pushing a “forward looking strategy”; one that does not “linger in the past.” In addition, while US NGOs were told after the 1st PrepCom that the US government did not mind if reparations and compensatory measures came up during the WCAR (they just didn’t want it named in a Theme), their statement at the Informal Meeting made it very clear that they “will not accept reparations or compensation as a sub-theme to theme four.”

The US government was in Dakar to push their agenda. Their mere presence in the Drafting Committee, given their power in the UN and world, would have severely impaired frank and open discussion by the African governments. It is for this reason that the governments decided to remain in closed session. Although some African governments have some concerns about NGOs being present during these kinds of discussions, after talking with several government delegations, it is my analysis that the major concern was keeping non-member states out.

Draft Government Declaration
The draft declaration is attached. I am disseminating it even though it is not finalized to give you an indication of their thinking. As you will see, it is a very strong document, particularly in terms of slavery as a crime against humanity, reparations and compensatory measures.

IV.NGO Forum Planning Meeting for the Americas in Quito, Ecuador

Please note that the deadline to register for the Quito meeting is 15 February. The letter of invitation and application are attached. For more information on the meeting, go to Quito NGO Meeting.

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