International Human Rights: Race Discrimination - Essay Example

International Human Rights: Race Discrimination Introduction “Race discrimination involves treating someone unfavourably because he/she is of a certain race or because of personal characteristics associated with race.” (Equal Opportunities Commission, 2009). This has been an age old problem rooted in prejudice and the treatment of people with low esteem. It is a major problem in our society because it leads to the marginalisation of people and communities that are deemed to be lower. In the long run, racial discrimination leads to a situation where hatred leads to so much problems in the society. This paper examines the concept of racial discrimination in an international human rights context. It evaluates the various incidents that are related to this problem, attempts to control it and an overview of various perspectives of racism. The research is presented in two parts. The first part is about the conceptual framework of discrimination and how it occurs in the society. It examines some key debates about the idea of racial discrimination and discusses whether discrimination should be treated as an individual issue or as a general/universal issue. The second part of the paper will focus on a practical approach to the human rights problem. This will involve the examination of the realism of the problem. It will assess how racial discrimination occurs in the global issue. It will view the Civil Rights movement in the United States and its influence on the problem of racism. The paper will go on to suggest a practical approach to the handling of the social problem of discrimination. Part 1 Conceptual Debates on Racism Racism is viewed from many angles. It can best be viewed from a historical perspective and a in the light of differences in origins of people. Better (2002) makes a distinction between Race and Ethnicity. “Ethnicity refers to any social grouping which is defined or set off by religion, language, national origin and cultural differences or by some combination of these categories” (Better, 2002 p3). Thus the definition of ethnicity is steeped in the cultural differences of people. It is defined on the basis of choices and preferences of a given people in terms of values, beliefs and other elements that define the societal structure. On the other hand, racial discrimination has two main components (1) differential treatment on the basis of race that disadvantages a racial group and (2) Treatment on the basis of inadequately justified factors other than race that disadvantages a racial group (differential effect) (Committee on National Statistics, 2004) This means that racial discrimination involves the conscious effort to treat certain people more favourably than others. This ensures that some people are disadvantaged without any conditions. Such persons end up being marginalised because of their permanent features. In other cases, people are giving limited privileges or rights. This is short of what they must be accorded in relation to the law. Thus, the differences that exists between groups causes differentials on that basis. Race can be seen as something that developed by the broad classification of people based on their continental origins. In other words, the nature of the development of people in different continents determined the kind of cultural contexts within which people developed. Thus, the Sub-Saharan African can be said to have had a very unique and undiluted cultural system because they were effectively cut off from the rest of the world for thousands of years by the expansion of the Sahara desert. Elsewhere, the Europeans developed in a system that differed from Asians and other peoples because of the unique structures they set. The concept of race became a convenient method of classifying people after the European exploration of Africa and the discovery of the Americas (Zack 1994). Most of these people based the classification of people and human societies on the fact that Noah had three sons and each son is said to represent one of the dominant racial groups (Zack, 1994 p12). This set the stage for anthropologists and biologists to formulate theories and conclude on various generalizations about the various groups of people: Africans, Europeans and Asians. Due to the fact that Africans were scattered into smaller communities on a vast continent and because these small African communities had little contact with the rest of the world, Africans went through a setback. The technological, governance and scientific structures of Africa remained largely underdeveloped when the European explorations began. Due to that, the Africans had very simple social, medical, scientific and cultural systems when the Europeans discovered the continent. European governments took advantage of these setbacks and institutionalized the slave trade system. Other groups of people took advantage of vulnerable races. With time, massive generalizations were undertaken. People were subjugated and disrespected in numerous ways and forms. The United States had to go to war in order to liberate and recognize African slaves and integrate them into the society. Elsewhere in other parts of the world, racial discrimination took several forms. For instance, in Nazi Germany, people were classified into racial groups and killed because of their features. In the Second World War, Japan sought to eliminate the European presence from Asia through force. Race has therefore been a major source of discrimination for several decades. Racism is influenced by the relationships based on distinguished marks on the basis of racial descent (Back & Solomos, 2000 p105). This form of discrimination has created numerous social barriers and controversy amongst human societies across the generations. Although race has been the basis for taking advantage of weaker peoples around the world, there have been another school of thought which supports racial segregation. An African-American activist, W. E. B Dubois argued that each group of people are unique and distinct and thus, races should not be made to interact (Glasgow, 2009). Dubois called this the 'Conservation of Races'. This position asserts that people are happy being amongst their own. This therefore means that racial classification has some positive sides. The distinction comes in when racial classification is used as the basis for discrimination by one group against another group. This is where racial discrimination becomes a problem to the society as a whole. It leads to massive generalization and the retarding of development and progress in several ways. In conclusion, racial discrimination can be seen as a situation where people are classified into groups based on their permanent genetic and social features and discriminated against because of who they are. Normative Theories of Freedom of Rights The United Nations Charter states in Article 1 (3) that the fundamental purpose of the United Nations is to promote and respect fundamental human rights and freedoms for people of all races, sex, language and religion (UN Charter). This therefore means that there is an obligation upon the United Nations in general to ensure that members of the UN put in place reasonable measures to enhance human rights. This implies that there are numerous forms of discrimination that must be averted by governments, nations and peoples within them. Since the UN is 'a family of nations', the fundamental principle of the UN reverts to states. Thus, every state has the responsibility to maintain structures that are devoid of racism and discrimination. Organizations and groups in nations will have to do everything they have to do to prevent racism and protect the fundamental rights of people of different racial origins and cultures. Particularism V Universalism Racism is therefore one of the main components of social injustice that stands in the way of the protection of fundamental human rights. In the UK, certain cases have formed the basis of the definition of the various components of racism. In BBC V Souster1 it was established that direct discrimination involves the the classification of people into social groups. Thus, in every case, the conscious efforts to put people into certain social groups to discriminate against them forms the basis of discrimination. Due to this, people who are of different groups by birth or by adherence are considered to be racist in their approach. This concept can be seen as a direct racism. In Aina V Employment Services2, the concept of indirect racism was established. Indirect discrimination involves the situation where people of a certain racial group are barred because they are not capable of meeting a given criteria. In the case in question, a Black employee applied for a position and was rejected because the position demanded a person of a senior position. The plaintiff however argued that there were no people of his race in such positions so there was some kind of indirect discrimination. The court decided the case in favour of the plantiff. In conclusion, racial discrimination can be examined from a universal point of view. In this direction, nations are compelled and obliged to put in place structures to ensure fairness in race relations. This is manifest in the fact that individual cases are judged on the basis of standard laws that are made to avert racial discrimination. Nations around the world have such laws that prevent negative practices. However, there are individual issues that demand a particularistic approach. These cases often involve individuals who enter situations of conflict which are rooted in racial issues. In such cases, there is the need for a committee or a court to examine the facts at hand and come up with a decision on the matter. Part 2 Overview of Global Racial Discrimination In spite of the principles that stand against racial discrimination in all nations, there are some places and situations where racism is not held as a serious situation. Some nations do not have laws against racial discrimination. Other nations have the laws but they are not duly honoured or respected as required. Practical Approach to Creating Awareness and Advocacy on Discrimination This section of the paper identify real-life examples of discrimination as it occurs in our society today. Although a lot has been done to curb racism, it continues to haunt the human society. In the UK, the most recent issue of the young Mr. Lawrence who was killed by a white gang for being showed how split the UK is. A Black British MP made comments which sparked so much anger throughout the country. Some people demanded that she resigns because of her racist attitude. In Scotland, there is an average of 20 race-related crimes each passing day of the year (Scotsman, 2007). There were over 6,000 race hate crimes that occurred in that part of the UK in just 2007. In 2004, the British Criminal Survey revealed that 87,000 of non-Britons had experienced some form of racially motivated discrimination. In the survey, it was discovered that about 57% of the victims experienced discrimination from offenders who were not White. This shows that although White people form the overall majority of offenders in the UK, discrimination from one racial group to another racial group is not uncommon. This means that there is a lot to be done to prevent the occurrence of racially motivate discrimination in our society. Many approaches can be employed to attain this end. The Civil Rights Movement The critical race theory is a collection of activists and scholars interested in studying and transforming the relationships between race, racism and power (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001). The theory teaches that human beings in every country must be given some level of respect at all times and in all situations. It teaches that the world needs to abolish the tendency for people to discriminate against other people on the grounds that all human beings are born equal. The critical race theory implies that the idea of providing equality in the society must transcend just an effort to create laws that will make it illegal to discriminate against people of different racial backgrounds. It states emphatically that the society needs to take up a proactive approach to monitor and examine the various aspects of society at all times and come up with changes that will effectively eliminate discrimination in the society at all times. One of the pressures groups that arose to insist on the observance of the critical race approach in the American society was the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 70s. These movements sought to demand equality in different aspects of the American society. They required the proper recognition and respect of all races in economics, history, context, group, self interest and feelings. The civil rights movements sought to use protests and other peaceful means to demand the equality and fair treatment of people with African origins. In the long run, the demands of the civil rights movement sought to demand equality for all peoples in America. The legacy of this movement led to the creation of a step-by-step progress towards equality and fairness. This involved the creation of legal reasoning, enlightenment of the masses, neutrality of constitutional law and several other areas of the society. The demands of the civil rights movements in America spread to different parts of the world. The practical approach used by the African-Americans who led this struggle became a tool used to influence other nations towards the elimination of discrimination. Conclusion Racial discrimination is a serious thing in our society. It involves division of people into groups based on their physical features and ethnic origins and treating some better than others. Racial discrimination is a fundamental wrong that is perpetrated against the victims. It is against the UN Charter and nations have made laws against it. In spite of these laws, it is actively perpetrated by different groups of people in societies around the world. Racial discrimination in the UK is still a big issue. It is widespread and in spite of efforts to curb it, the occurrence is still huge. It is therefore necessary for important decisions to be made about them and everyone needs to contribute as the Civil Rights Movement did in the United States. References Back, Les & Solomos, John (2000) Theories of Race & Racism: A Reader London: Taylor & Francis Group Better, Shirley Jean (2002) Institutional Racism: A Primer on Theory & Strategies for Social Change London: Rowman & Littlefield Committee on National Awareness (2004) Defining Discrimination The National Academic Press. Available online at: http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10887&page=39 [Accessed 10th February, 2012] Delgado Richard & Stefancic Jean (2001) Critical Race Theory: An Introduction New York: NYU Press Equal Opportunities Commission (2009) Race/Colour Discrimination Available at: Accessed: 2nd February, 2012. Glasgow, Joshua (2009) The Theory of Race London: Taylor & Francis Group Law Ian (1996) Race, Ethnicity & Social Policy London: Routledge Publishing Scotsman Newspaper (2007) Almost 20 race-hate crimes a day in Scotland Available online at: http://www.scotsman.com/news/scottish-news/edinburgh-east-fife/almost_20_race_hate_crimes_a_day_in_scotland_1_692617 [Accessed 10th February, 2012] UN Charter (2012) Chapter 1: Purposes & Principles Available at: http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter1.shtml Accessed: 10th February, 2012. Zack Naomi (1994) Race & Mixed Race Temple University Press Read More