Researcher, author, and professor Philomena Essed wrote that: “Racial oppression is inherent in the nature of the social order…the real drama is not racism but the fact that racism is an everyday problem. …racism is transmitted in routine practices that seem ‘normal,’ at least for the dominant group, this can only mean that racism is often not recognized, not acknowledged-let alone  not considered a problem by the dominant group.”

Some of the roots of racism are economic. When people are scared, desperate and frightened, they scapegoat people and allow latent feelings of racism to surface. Another is the attitude of superiority that individuals and groups feel over others.  Race and racism are socially constructed.  We are not born racists; it is learned behavior based on lack of exposure to diversity, ignorance, and/or fear.  Racists focus on what they perceive as differences among people, when in fact there is very little.  Instead of the word “differences,” let’s use the word individual uniqueness.  Scientists have shown that there is little genetic difference between people who have been grouped as belonging to different races.  In fact scientists have proven that 99% of the human genome is the same in everyone.  Genetic differences are more within groups than between groups.  We are all one coming from the same African ancestry.

Prejudice, discrimination stereotyping are all elements of racism.  The term race in itself is non-specific.

Stereotyping anyone because of their race, ethnicity or color and based on those assumptions commit acts of discrimination, prejudice and/or violence against others; is unacceptable and should never be tolerated.

A form of this is what is commonly known as racial profiling; in the United States it is called  “driving, walking or shopping while black.” In other words the crime; being black. Generally, racial profiling, is associated with people in authority, like the police and government but anyone who sees individuals be it refugees, immigrants, or other people of color or different ethnicities and based on some preconceptions about these individuals determines that it is their right to attack, insult, threaten harass, detain, arrest, etc., when that person has done nothing to warrant this kind of attention except to be “unique” in appearance.

Many who are people of color, refugees or immigrants including myself are constantly being stopped on the streets or at the boarding pass checkpoint at the airport and harassed when nothing has been done to raise suspicion.  The only factor is that the person being stopped is ethnic or of color.

I would like to recount a story published in the New York Times about everyday racism, recently, well known actor, producer and director Forest Whitaker of The Last King of Scotland, one of his popular films, was at a deli on the upper west side of Manhattan near Columbia university when he was approached by an employee and accused of shoplifting and then searched by this employee, of course nothing was found, for he is not a thief.  The owner of the deli said it was a sincere mistake made by a decent man who was just doing his job!

Minorities are subject to these accusations and indignities and to even more devastating attacks of violence daily.   The media glare comes when the victim is Forest Whitaker, an Oscar winner. But it does not matter if you are wealthy, professional, a student, a worker, unemployed or a refugee you are seen and treated as someone different because of your color or ethnicity and not as a valued and unique human being.

Racism is insidious; it eats at both the perpetrator and the victim. It exists everywhere; it is attitude, behavior, feelings that take root within each of us from experiences, family, and socialization.  Racism is not innate; people are not born with racist feelings, these are learned!

When you hear someone say I am not racist or I have no racist feelings, unfortunately, they seem to have forgotten we live in a world where we are taught hatred or we feel threaten and we blame others for that fear and others become the target or recipient of these feelings.  The financial crisis, the loss of jobs, becomes the excuse for allowing these dormant feelings of racism to be exposed.  The world is diverse and the majority of the world’s populations are people of color. We live in a world of globalization where people are moving and immigrating from country to country. Yet racism is alive and well around the world.  It is subtle and overt such as calling people derogatory names, refusing to rent or sell to immigrants or foreigners, telling people to go back where they came from, that they are all dirty or that they are filled with disease or criminals.  And another confirmation of harboring racist feelings is when a person say that they don’t have racist feelings because “my best friend is African” or worse yet, to be told I don’t see color and you are different not like the others! We blame the victim for causing the oppression or being responsible for the racist behavior of others.

People move to another country, live and work in that country, have children yet cannot get residency let alone citizenship despite their contribution to their new homeland.

Each of us is responsible individually for the continued perpetuation of racism unless we decide to do something about it.  Ending racism begins and ends with each of us.  We all must become aware of and acknowledge these toxic attitudes and behaviors and stop denying their existence.  Because until we all make this acknowledgement, we cannot and will not do anything to change or confront this plague on our society and culture.

Racism is not new for it has existed for centuries around the world.  Unfortunately, today in the year 2013 in the 21st century because of racism we are still experiencing a world where men, women and children continue to be excluded from living fully as human beings, actualizing their dreams, achieving their goals and contributing to improving this world.

The doctrine of racism is not on the wane, it is getting new recruits and gaining increased popularity and acceptance. We can’t allow racism to continue to grow and take root in our society. There is no excuse or justification for racism of any kind anywhere.

We must all work to end its existence, and everywhere we find it, we must condemn and defeat it.

What is clear here is that racism and I repeat is universal and is in the minds and hearts of “good people”.  Those who continuously state and insist they are not racists or have racist feelings. Good people, who do nothing, good people who remain silent in the face of racist behavior.

Let’s confront racists; let’s do our part to change not only our attitudes but also those of others to the damaging effects of racism in our world.  We must all take responsibility for its continuation we have a duty to do our part to end the nightmare of racial discrimination and to change history.

“Silence in the face of racists assaults are acts of complicity” and finally a quote by Maya Angelou “we all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.”

“We are concerned at the persistence of loopholes and ambiguities in the current draft of the constitution which, if not removed, might undermine the protection of women’s rights and the principle of gender equality,” said the head of the UN Working Group on discrimination against women in law and in practice, Kamala Chandrakirana.

Tunisia’s new constitution is seen as a vehicle to further advance justice, democracy and human rights, including the rights of women. However, the Working Group warned that the current draft fails to refer to the international human rights obligations to which Tunisia is bound.

“While equality between men and women is recognized, the prohibition of discrimination, including on the ground of sex, is not articulated in the second draft constitution, and there is a lack of provision on the right to remedy,” Ms. Chandrakirana said.

The Working Group, which just finished a five-day visit to the country, said it was also concerned that the draft does not specify the spheres of life – public and private – in which the right to equality is guaranteed. It also fails to specify women’s civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

They called for the constitution to provide temporary special measures to accelerate women’s participation in all aspects of society and to create a mechanism to monitor compliance with women’s equality and non-discrimination.

In that regard, it recommended the adoption of explicit requirements of gender balance and gender responsiveness in every constitutional authority, as well as establishing a specialized constitutional authority on gender equality.

In particular, the Working Group urged Tunisian authorities as well as civil society organizations to reach out to rural women to improve their capacities as equal citizens entitled to fully participate in the public and political life of their country. “Rural women need to be an integral part of the historic reforms the country is undergoing,” the Group said.

During their visit to the country, Ms. Chandrakirana and Eleonora Zielinska, who represented the Working Group, met in Tunis and Jendouba with Government officials and local authorities, the national human rights institution, civil society organizations, religious institutions, academics and representatives of UN agencies.

The Working Group is scheduled to present its final conclusions and recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council in June.

“The Working Group is concerned that in the drafting of a new constitution, in particular, its article 28, gains on equality and women’s human rights and women’s status in society achieved in the last five decades risk being rolled back,” said Kamala Chandrakirana, who currently heads the UN expert panel.

Made up of five independent experts, the Working Group’s focus is to identify, promote and exchange views, in consultation with States and other actors, on good practices related to the elimination of laws that discriminate against women. At the time of its establishment by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, in September 2010, it was hailed as a milestone on the road towards women’s equality with men.

Demanding democracy and freedom, the people of Tunisia were at the vanguard last year of a wave of popular uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East, which became known collectively as the Arab Spring. These movements have led to changes in government in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, and to uprisings elsewhere. Tunisia’s political transition started in January last year, and in December, an interim Government was appointed.

According to a news release from the Office for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Tunisia’s new draft constitution places women on unequal footing with men and does not consider them as independent, full individuals. It also delineates their role as ‘complementary to the one of the men in the family’ and fails to ensure that this provision is reciprocal.

“Rights are guaranteed to women not on the basis of them being entitled to human rights by virtue of the fact that they are human, but rather, them being complementary to men,” Chandrakirana said.

“Although the text refers to women’s role in nation-building, it conditions this on women being ‘complementary to men,’ thereby failing to establish the basis for full independence and empowerment of women, and their participation as active citizens for change,” she added.

According to the Working Group, women in Tunisia have long enjoyed an admired position in a region where much remains to be done to protect and promote women’s human rights, thanks in part to previous efforts by the women’s movement and the Government’s adoption in 1956 of the Code of Personal Status, which contained progressive laws on equality between men and women.

“The current Government has an obligation and responsibility to build on these achievements,” Ms. Chandrakirana said. “While Governments change, international human rights obligations remain binding.”

The Government of Tunisia has accepted a visit of the Working Group in November.

Political transitions “offer unprecedented opportunities for progress on women’s human rights, despite there being a risk of regression and new forms of discrimination,” according to the UN Working Group on discrimination against women in law and in practice.

“Good practice is evidenced where States take advantage of the opportunities to advance women’s human rights and avoid any kind of regression,” said Kamala Chandrakirana, who currently heads the group and presented its first annual report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The group voiced concern at reports that women who have been active in the fight for democracy and justice find themselves excluded from decision-making in new state-building processes.

Countries in transition need to effectively take advantage of the ongoing legal, policy and institutional reforms to guarantee strong participation of women in all spheres of political and public life, especially at decision-making levels, and include them as equal partners in shaping the future of their country, they noted.

“Women’s full and equal participation in ongoing political transitions in many regions of the world is a prerequisite for any democratic and lasting change, and is critical to sustainable development, peace, and progress,” said Chandrakirana. “There is a window of opportunity to consolidate women’s involvement in politics as many have participated in and driven the civil movements in their countries and are poised to make further progressive contributions to their societies,” she added.

The Working Group also regretted that there were still too few women in politics and in decision-making positions despite decades of efforts, and underscored the importance of affirmative action and of the guarantees of freedom of expression, assembly and association to rectify this.

The Human Rights Council, which is currently holding its 20th session, appoints experts to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The experts work in an independent and unpaid capacity.

During the first UN Human Rights Council panel on HIV, High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay underlined that although there has been much progress since HIV was first discovered 31 years ago, there is still much to be done to ensure that no human rights violations are committed which make individuals more vulnerable to the disease.

“HIV has taught us a lot about how the neglect of human rights increases vulnerability,” Pillay said. “The lack of respect for human rights has not only fuelled the epidemic, it has brought to the surface pernicious and persistent forms of discrimination and marginalization, in multiple and overlapping manifestations.” Pillay emphasized that protecting human rights is a central element to effectively combat the epidemic as ending discrimination against vulnerable populations will lead to a more inclusive approach when implementing and monitoring HIV policies and programmes.

“Sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender persons, people who use drugs, prisoners and persons in detention, migrants, refugees, persons who live in poverty, people with disabilities, orphans, young women and girls must not only be included in national responses to HIV, they must also be involved in the policy options and choices that affect them,” Pillay said. “It is no coincidence that these populations are the most vulnerable to the epidemic – they not only bear the burden of the disease, they also endure a broad range of human rights violations,” she added.

Pillay underscored that a human rights approach to HIV also needs to address a wide range of abuses which may increase vulnerability to the disease such as violence against women and girls, in addition to ensuring that current laws and practices do not discriminate against people living with HIV. She also called on countries to increase their funding for AIDS response so citizens can have access to affordable lifesaving treatment. “Funding the AIDS response is not only necessary; it is also a human rights legal obligation. We should not permit the current economic crisis to translate into a reversal in the gains made so far,” she said.