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Celina Romany and Katherine Culliton
Excerpted Wrom: IBGDADRZFSQHYUCDDJBLVLMHAALPTCXLYRWTQ
The UN World Conference Against Racism: a Race-ethnic and Gender
Perspective , 9 NO. 2 Human Rights Brief 14-29, 28 (Winter, 2002)
Latinas' focus at the conference was on improving the life conditions
of some of the most marginalized populations in Latin America.
Afro-descendent and indigenous women are among the most marginalized
populations precisely because their experiences of discrimination have
yet to be addressed appropriately in Latin America. In its transition to
democracy, Latin America can no longer afford to postpone the
realization of multicultural democracies that acknowledge diversity in
their conception of participatory democracy. Even though women and
racial and ethnic "minorities" led the fight against political
oppression during the era of Latin American dictatorships, the human
rights culture that emerged during the period of transition to democracy
still clings to a narrow characterization of civil and political rights.
Historically, formal legal structures dealt only with violations of
political and civil rights, and did not take into account the right to
freedom from discrimination, much less address the socio-economic
implications of violations of this fundamental right. Thus, the
marginalization of Afro- descendent and indigenous women in Latin
America has not been addressed adequately through the traditional human
rights model. The right to be free from discrimination constitutes a
centerpiece of a transformation agenda. The Inter-American system, which
can provide significant leadership in this effort, must awaken and
acknowledge this reality.DPA1 In Brazil, where the majority of the
population is Afro-descendent, or in Central America, where much of the
population is comprised of Indigenous Peoples, discrimination is an
everyday reality, manifested in lack of access to civil-political and
socio- economic rights. The effects are harsh, and include physical
abuse, political exclusion, and socio-economic marginalization. The
official denial of the existence of racism in countries like Argentina,
Chile, and Uruguay, has enabled governments and private parties to
practice discrimination with impunity.
The lack of access to resources provided by the World Bank and the
Inter- American Development Bank, and the lack of access to the
Inter-American political and legal systems, has produced a set of
policies skewed in favor of the elite white male. Recent reports by the
Inter-American Human Rights Commission and the Inter-American
Development Bank describe a systemic failure to include
Afro-descendents, Indigenous Peoples, and women in the regional human
rights and development systems, resulting in policies of de facto
discrimination. The WCAR was the first time that Afro-descendent and
indigenous Latin American women were able to voice their concerns about
discrimination at a formal conference. Most of these women had never had
the opportunity to speak to their governments about racism, much less
influence policy and secure promises to design and enforce concrete
measures to counter discrimination.
The new culture of human rights in Latin America and the adoption of
human rights instruments at the constitutional level provide fertile
ground for post- WCAR action. Every member of the GRULAC has already
adopted the treaties necessary to redress all forms and intersections of
discrimination in the region. The fact that such treaties are at the
constitutional level means that, with creativity and political will, a
new framework of rights can emerge. The adoption of human rights
treaties as part of the constitutions of Latin American countries has
enabled the rapid and successful development of women's human rights in
the region.
The anti-discrimination treaty provisions from the Universal
Declaration, the American Convention, the CEDAW, and the CERD are
stronger than U.S. civil rights law, particularly in two respects: (1)
effects of discrimination are sufficient proof of a legal violation,
thus transcending the barriers that proof of intent usually present; and
(2) the remedy must redress discrimination effectively, making available
a broad spectrum of affirmative actions. The experience and expertise of
the U.S. civil rights movement, however, could help inform the emerging
Latin American civil rights movement. In fact, bridging North and South
and sharing strengths may be key to the empowerment of both civil rights
movements post-Durban. |
