RIGHTS-AMERICAS: Reparations for Victims of Racism Debated

By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Print |

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, Dec 4 2000 (IPS) - Compensation for those who suffered the impacts of colonisation and slavery in the Americas is the thorniest issue facing delegates to the regional conference on racism convening this week in Santiago, Chile.

Some nations of the Americas want the Regional Preparatory Meeting’s final document to recognise the right to investigate, as well as the possibility of reparations for the victims, acts motivated by racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia or other forms of intolerance.

Reparations, according to their conception, could cover all acts perpetrated since the beginning of the colonial era on the continent, in 1492, and the subjugation to slavery of indigenous peoples and entire African communities.

Other governments, meanwhile, warn that insisting on indemnification could lead to the failure, or at least the weakening, of the conclusions reached at the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, to be held Aug 31 to Sep 7, 2001, in Durban, South Africa.

If other regions that suffered colonialism and slavery, such as Africa and Asia, joined in these demands, the former colonial powers will unite to prevent the Durban conference from reaching any such agreement, predicted one Latin American expert.

The draft of the document to be presented at the Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Americas, which officially gets underway Tuesday, proposes quick and just reparations, taking the form of restitution, indemnification, compensation, rehabilitation and/or satisfaction.

The restitution variant refers primarily to land, and is a viable solution in many cases, as long is it does not imply the displacement of populations, indicated the Latin American diplomat.

Indemnification also does not appear to be problematical, because it would be granted in cases of proven expropriation. Rehabilitation, meanwhile, is frequently applied in acknowledging languages and cultures, institutions and even “collective goods,” which previously have run against the dominant system of individual property.

As far as satisfaction, there would be no obstacles for its approval, because it has a moral value and is largely an historic aspect, commented the source, who requested anonymity.

However, the idea of compensation for past abuses could obstruct next year’s World Conference against Racism.

Financial reparations granted to the victims of the Holocaust only entailed funds still held by the banks involved and was obtained after a seemingly endless lobbying effort, said the source.

The draft of the region’s document under discussion proposes the recognition of four categories for victims of racism: indigenous, blacks, immigrants and other minorities.

In the preparatory sessions leading up to this week’s conference in Santiago, most of the delegates have preferred to use the expression “blacks” instead of “African-Americans” or “people of African origin.”

The delegate from Haiti reportedly rejected the use of “African-American” outright, saying it was a euphemism. “We are blacks, not people of colour,” he asserted.

The United States and Canada are to take part in the regional meeting in Santiago, though the two countries normally form part of the European group when it comes to human rights matters.

The European countries, which held their regional preparatory meeting in October in Strasbourg, France, requested the exclusion of the United States and Canada with the argument that North America’s racial problems are profoundly different from those Europe faces.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, stepped in to convince the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean to accept the incorporation of the two northern countries, though their inclusion had initially been questioned.

One point in the region’s draft declaration alludes to the United States by expressing concern about reports that, in a certain country of the Americas, race constitutes an element in the application of justice, and in the death penalty in particular.

The delegations from the United States and Argentina requested the inclusion of a point that declares “great concern manifestations of anti-Semitism and hostility towards Arabs, as well as other forms of dislike or fear of certain groups, both in the Americas and other parts of the world.”

With respect to the use of the Internet in disseminating racist material, the draft document favours establishing codes of conduct for companies that use the web.

Another proposal from Argentina includes refugees, asylum- seekers and internally displaced people in the category of vulnerable minority groups.

The Americas’ draft declaration considers that, in addition to the four victim categories (indigenous, black, immigrants and other minorities), “there is dual discrimination in the case of women, the elderly, children, handicapped persons, refugees, persons suffering from AIDS or living in poverty.”

In preparation for next year’s summit in Durban, African delegates are to meet in Dakar in late January, while those from Asian countries are slated to meet in Teheran in late February.