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A/C.3/SR.1165

General Assembly, 17th session, 3rd Committee : 1165th meeting

UN Document Symbol A/C.3/SR.1165
Convention International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD)
Document Type Summary Record
Session 17th
Type Document
Description

6 p.

Subjects Racial Discrimination, Protection of Minorities, Equality

Extracted Text

Untied Nations
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
SEVENTEENTH SESSION
Official Records

THIRD COMMITTEE, 1165th
MEETING
Monday, 29 October 1962. at 10.45 a.m.
NEW YORK

CONTENTS
Agenda items 12 and 80: Report of the Economic and Social Council
(chapters VIII and LX) (concluded) Advisory services in the field of human rights (concluded)
Consideration of draft resolutions (concluded)............. 155
Agenda item 48:
Manifestations of racial prejudice and national
and religious intolerance
General debate. 156
Chairman: Mr. Nemi Chairman KASLIWAL
(India).
AGENDA ITEMS 12 AND 80
Report of the Economic and social Council (chapters VIII and IX) (A/5203. A/C.3/L.991/Rev.1 and Rev.l/Add.1, A/C.1/L.992/Rev.4 and Rev.4/Add.1. A/C.3/L.993/ Rev.1, A/C.3/L.994/Rev.1 and Rev.1/Add.1, A/C.3/ L.995 and Add.2, A/C.3/L.996/Rev.1 and Rev.l/ Add.14. A/C.3/L.998 and Add.1-2. A/C.3 L.999/Rev.l and Rev.1/Add.1-5, A/C.3/L.1001, A/C.3/L.1002/Rev.1, A/C.3/L.1004/Rev.1. A/C.3/L.1005, A/C.3/L.1007) (concluded)
Advisory services in the field of human rights (A/5226, A/C.3/L.997 and Add.1-2) (concluded)
CONSIDERATION OF DRAFT RESOLUTIONS (concluded)

1. Mrs. NIKOLEWA (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said that the representatives of Guatemala and Panama had complained, at the 1164th meeting, of references which had been made la her delegation's statement to a number of controversial questions. The discussion of those questions had not been initiated by her delegation representative of Thailand had seemed to that there was some hidden meaning in his (A/C.3/L.1007) on the celebration of anniversary of the Universal Declaration of had stated plainly that the sub-amendment was intended to refer to both colonial and other peoples. Her delegation had therefore requested an explanation of a text which was open to divergent interpretations. The question in dispute related to ideological differences. discussion of which was fruitless; bet the Soviet Union could not refrain from stating its position if other delegations introduced such topic.
2. She was gratified that her delegation's amendment
(A/C.3/L.993/Rev.l) to the twelve-Power draft
Resolution (A/C.3/L.991/Rev.l) had been adopted unanimously. She had voted in favour of the amendment proposed by Guinea, Mali and Mauritania (A/C.3/ L1002/Rev.1), which was Inferior to the original version (A/C.3/L. 1902) but retained its substance: namely. the idea that 1963 should mark the final end of colonialism.
3. Mr. MEANS (United States of America) said that his delegation had not voted in favour of the draft resolution regarding international control of narcotics (A/C.3/L.995) which requested Member States to ratify or accede to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, because his Government did not intend to become a party to the Convention for reasons already stated elsewhere. In its present form, the Convention had material defects which would weaken the system of control over the distribution of narcotic drugs.
4. Mrs. CISELET (Belgium) explained that she had abstained from voting on one of the preambular paragraphs and on operative paragraph 2 of the draft resolution regarding the advancement of women in developing countries (A/C.3/L.996/Rev.l and Rev.l/ Add.2-3) because her delegation could not take a position on the possible future financial implications of a long-term programme for the advancement of women before her Government considered the matter. She had, however, voted In favour of the draft resolution as a whole because she was In full agreement with its principle and spirit.
5. Her delegation had abstained on operative paragraph 1 of the draft resolution regarding advisory services In the field of human rights (A/C.3/L.997 and Add.2) because It was not convinced of the need to double the number of fellowships, but it had voted in favour of the draft resolution as a whole as a token of Its interest in the programme of advisory services, which had produced good results.
6. Mr. AUJAY DE LA DURE (France) said that his delegation had abstained in the voting on the draft resolution regarding the international control of narcotics because, while not fundamentally opposed to the terms of the Single Convention, his delegation was not entirely convinced that it represented a genuine advance on the various instruments already in force. Furthermore, some of the reservations made by a fairly large number of States at the time of signature might seriously reduce the scope of the Convention and open a breach in the existing system of control. His country having adopted a waiting attitude until such time as the application of the Convention could be more accurately estimated, he could scarcely have voted for a text recommending Member States to adopt a clearly different attitude.
7. Mr. MAAMOURI (Tunisia) remarked that the revised version of the twelve-Power draft resolution had been quite satisfactory and could have obtained a comfortable majority. A number of amendments and

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sub-amendments had, however, been submitted in the interest of unanimity, and he commended the various delegations concerned on the spirit of compromise they had displayed. With the rejection of the first part, and the adoption of the second part, of the sub-amendment proposed by Colombia, Costa Rica and Thailand (A/ C.3/L.1007), the amendment submitted by Guinea, Mall, and Mauritania (A/C.3/L.1002/Rev.l) had become self-contradictory; with that in mind, his delegation had been obliged to vote against the second part of the sub-amendment. Despite that defect in the text, his delegation had subsequently voted in favour of the sub-amendment of Guinea, Mall and Mauritania, as amended, and in favour of the draft resolution as a whole, because it clearly expressed the general desire to make the fifteenth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights a memorable date in the history of mankind's struggle for freedom and progress.
AGENDA ITEM 48
Manifestations of racial prejudice and national and religious intolerance (A/5129, A/C.3/L.1006/Rev.1)
GENERAL DEBATE
8. Mr. COMAY (Israel) noted the strange paradox of an age In which man could release the vast energy of the atom but could not exorcise from the human heart the demons of hatred, envy and greed that led one group to exploit, ill-treat or even wipe out another. It was sad that, apart from considering individual areas of unwillingness to surrender domination, the General Assembly should also have found it necessary to include In its agenda the general item before the Committee.
9. The subject had tragic and disturbing overtones for his delegation as members of an ancient people who had boon classic victims of bigotry throughout the ages, culminating in the horror of Nazi Germany, which had not as one of its major policy alma the cold-blooded, planned extermination of the entire Jewish people. Yet not all the victims of that regime had been Jewish; the world had been divided into several categories, such as the Slav peoples, to be exterminated or turned into slaves, and the Negroes, who had been considered sub-human. The murder of some 12 million civilians in Nazi-occupied Europe, of whom about half had been Jews, had been the ultimate celebration of racial supremacy doctrines.
10. Tens of thousands of Jewish survivors had gone to Israel and the moat sacred national tank had been to beal than In body and spirit and to rebuild their shattered lives. Thus it was little wonder that Israel should treat any recrudescence of anti-Semitism with deadly seriousness and should refuse to brush aside the first ugly symptoms of revived Nazi movements, however absurd they might at first appear. Since anti-Semitism manifestations had been the genesis of Eco-nomic and Social Council resolution 826 B (XXXII), his delegation frit that the text of ant resolution should have contained as express reference to anti-Semitism.
11. New Incidents had occurred during the past year; scarcely a week and passed without reports of bombs thrown at Jewish schools, Jewish business promises machine-gunned, synagogues set on fire, gatherings by organized gangs of because, swastikas and fifty slogans smeared on buildings and Jewish commentaries desecrated. It might be tempting to dismiss such incidents as the work of lunatics or Juvenile delinquents, but organized Nazi groups had recently become bolder in some countries. The size or importance of such groups should not be exaggerated, but they could not be ignored, nor would they wither away before derision. Such movements fed upon Intolerance and envy; they gained support from former Nazis in exile or from local reactionary elements, and they seemed to find ample funds for public demonstrations, anti-Semitic pamphlets and legal costs when they were prosecuted. It was ironical that the more law-abiding and liberal countries were the most reluctant to take action against those who would trample their laws and liberties underfoot. Insufficient account had been taken in that connexion of the fact that Nazism in all its manifestations had been recognized as criminal after the second world war, not only by the Nurnberg Tribunal but by various national legislations. Freedom of expression could not properly be exploited to propagate concepts branded as inherently criminal. It must be said, in fairness, that the activities of such persons as Rockwell and Colin Jordan were arousing the contempt of responsible public opinion and were receiving more serious attention than hitherto from the authorities of the countries concerned. Such manifestations were by no means a purely Jewish matter; starting with anti-Jewish feeling. the attack soon broadened to include other groups against which latent prejudice could be Inflamed and it might eventually undermine the whole fabric of society.
12. A serious form of discrimination, to which inadequate attention had been given in the draft resolution recommended by the Economic and Social Council, might be termed cultural discrimination, by which minority groups were denied the freedom and facilities to maintain their distinctive language, literature and traditions. A large section of the Jewish people had been singled out for such discrimination in a country which officially recognized the identity of each ethnic, national and religious group within its borders, including the Jewish group; that community, as a religious group, had also been denied the prerogatives still extended to other faiths, such as the production of sacred books and articles, the training of clerics, and contacts between local communities or with Jewish communities outside the country. It had been cut off from its rich religious and cultural heritage, and its helplessness was aggravated by the growing trend to find Jewish scapegoats for economic difficulties. Suck policies could hardly be reconciled with the terms of the Council's draft resolution and he pointed out that General Assembly resolution 1510 (XV) had referred more specifically to the cultural and economic aspects of the problem than did the draft resolution now proposed.
13. In drawing attention to anti-Jewish discrimination his delegation did not suggest that the United Nations should feel less concern for dangers or injustices suffered by other groups. He quoted in that connexion from the statement made by the Minister for Foreign Affaire of Israel (1148th plenary matting).
14. The draft resolution recommended by the Council was Tightly directed towards the future rather than the past, and Its recommendations to Governments, specialised agencies and other organizations wore important—particularly the Invitation to continue efforts to educate public opinion. His delegation attached the greatest importance to action In schools to eradicate prejudice and foster understanding of other groups and

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peoples; it would be valuable to know what UNESCO in particular had done and could do to promote that objective on a world-wide basis.
15. The United Nations would not, however, be discharging its responsibilities merely by adopting the draft resolution; it must give more serious thought to the continued involvement of the United Nations with the problem, as an integral part of Its striving for a better world order. The Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities should, of course, give lts continuous and active attention to the matter; he noted that items 8, 9 and 10 of the provisional agenda of the Sub-Commission's fifteenth session (E/CN.4/Sub.2/219) were relevant. The commendable work of the Sub-Commission was not enough in itself, however, to influence Governments and public opinion, and his delegation considered it essential that the General Assembly should, within a reasonable time, have an opportunity to review the progress made in combating discrimination in the world. He suggested that, as a preliminary step, the Secretary-General should be asked to report to the General Assembly at its eighteenth session on the implementation of any resolution adopted at the seventeenth session.
16. As far as the draft resolution regarding a convention on the elimination of racial discrimination (A/C.3/L.1006/Rev.l) was concerned, he expressed his delegation's complete solidarity with every effort to combat discrimination based on differences of race, colour and religion. He welcomed the idea of an international convention, which he assumed would cover the specific problems to which he had referred.
17. It might prove difficult to free human beings of bigotry and prejudice by education, but the attempt must be made and in the meantime legal and moral sanctions should be applied to prevent the bigoted from inflicting further harm on their fellow-men. Only the swift action of the law, backed by an alert and vigorous public opinion, and the education of the next generation could give real meeting to the noble words of the Preamble of the Charter of the United Nations.
18. Mr. KOCHMAN (Mauritania) said that the Committee was considering one of the great scourges of mankind, a social disease as old and terrible as any physical disease known to man. Racial and religious discrimination had been known by all countries and all peoples at some stage in their development. In the name of race and religion terrible destruction had been wrought and vast numbers of people made to suffer.
19. All discrimination sprang from the desire to dominate. History abounded with "chosen peoples" claiming to have special virtues end abilities and exalting the notion of racial superiority. One of the lessons of life, however, was that while men might differ In their knowledge they wore equal in their ability to acquire knowledge. There was no scientific or moral basis on which to build a general classification of races according to capabilities or degree of purity. Nevertheless, racial prejudices and myths provided a convenient excuse when the security and homogeneity of the group was threatened.
20. One of the chief racial myths was that of the pureness of blood. The promoters of mat theory wore clearly unaware that there wore no pure races and that history consisted of a continues series of migratory waves which resulted in the intermingling of peoples; nor did they appear to realise that blood had nothing to do with heredity and that it could not therefore produce a distinct community of any kind.
21. Another myth was that of colour. Some civilizations placed a special value on the colour of a person's skin. Many groups were despised and ostracized because of the degree of pigmentation of their ***. Yet the contributions of the coloured peoples to world civilization were of the highest order. He would mention only that the black university of Timbuktu in the twelfth century could be compared favourably with the European universities of that time and that the working of iron was thought to have been introduced by Negroes. If persecution of the Negro continued in the present day, a desire for vengeance might develop and the relations between white and black men might be strained even after a position of legal equality had been reached.
22. The Jewish myth was still fresh in the memories of many people. Anti-Semitism as a social attitude was very ancient and had by latter-day racists been connected with the pseudo-scientific Idea of a Jewish race. No such race existed, but a distinction must on the other hand be drawn between Semitism and Zionism. A political and ideological position of anti-Zionism, based on the assumption that Zionist expansionism violated human rights, was not incompatible with a policy of tolerance towards the Jewish people and religion.
23. The last myth to which he would refer was that of racial superiority. Not content with proclaiming the superiority of white men and condemning the mixing of blood, racists had gone so far as to establish a hierarchy even within the white race. The Nazis and Fascists had invented Aryanism, which gave rise to such secondary forms as Teutonism, Anglo-Saxonism and Celtism All such racist ideologies, however, must eventually meet the same fate.
24. In the sphere of principles, most universal religions and some ideologies taught the principles of equality and fraternity and rejected all differences due to race, colour and religious belief. The orthodox monogenism of Christianity had naturally led it to be anti-racist as a matter of principle and the Moslems had never practised racial intolerance.
25. In the sphere of facts, progress and the desire to make progress were generally manifest. Nevertheless, the racists were always looking to add new weapons to their arsenal and they had adapted the findings of biology to give a parudo-solentific explanation for morally repugnant attitudes. The racist doctrine was particularly noxious when it was redirected from individual ethnic groups to social classes within one and the sane group. Furthermore, there were racists who had abandoned the traditional positions of nationalism and chauvinism and who argued from the position that social phenomena resulted from racial conditions that were fixed for all time. In some countries, society went so far as to Institutionalize the notion of race.
26. What was asked of the Committee today was an act of courage of the kind it bad become accustomed to perform. While the Untied Nations tended to be basically political, an effort should be made to view certain problems from a social and humanitarian, rather than an Ideological and partisan, pout of view and In any case to divorce those problems from the cold war. His delegation criticized no particular country and was interested only in reaching mutual under* standing and practical solutions. He hoped mat every

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member of the Committee would for a short time forget the State he represented and work in the Committee's best tradition of humanitarianism. The disease of discrimination threatened all and must be remedied before it grew to the proportions of hatred between continents. The coexistence of different peoples was possible and beneficial, as his own country had proved.
27. On behalf of the sponsors, he introduced the draft resolution regarding a convention on the elimination of racial discrimination. He would comment upon it at a later stage of the discussion.
28. Mr. ALBUQUERQUE MELLO (Brazil) said that he represented a country which had never practised discrimination or intolerance and in which people of all races and beliefs lived in complete harmony. Indeed, nothing was more incomprehensible and odious to Brazilians than discrimination bused on race, colour or religion. Although the majority of the population was Catholic, any religion could be freely practised. People of different races and beliefs had contributed greatly to Brazil's economic and cultural development and occupied the highest posts in the Government. The only restrictions placed on immigration into the country were those arising from the requirement of a loyal and useful contribution to the country.
29. Brazil rejected the idea of race superiority. Its national Congress, not content simply with the constitutional guarantees, had in 1951 passed a law which made acts resulting from racial prejudice a crime punishable by fines and imprisonment. The law, which might serve as an example for other countries and which represented a powerful means for uprooting prejudice, was known as the Alfonso Arinos Act.
30. Guided by the same spirit, Brazilian foreign policy had turned decisively towards the peoples of Africa and Asia. In defining the policy he would adopt in that respect, the President of the Republic had declared in 1961 that Brazil, a country in which colour, religion and political beliefs had no importance, was anxious to make whatever repayment it could of the immense debt it owed to the African people. It considered a prosperous and stable Africa to be an essential condition for Brazilian security and development and believed that friendship and respect between Africa and Brazil would present no difficulties.
31. His delegation fully supported the draft resolution before the Committee and would be pleased to become a co-sponsor. It also endorsed the draft resolution recommended by the Economic and Social Council. Action such as that proposed by the Council might quickly attenuate, if not eliminate, the evil of discrimination. The education of public opinion and of the rising generation to abandon prejudice would be effective If, In addition national legislation prohibiting and punishing acts of discrimination was adopted. Legislative measures of that kind should protect man not only as an individual in society but also as an element of any minority group to which he might belong. He congratulated the Economic and Social Council on Its Initiative and assured the Committee that his Government was acutely aware of the importance of the question of discrimination, which was closely tied with the issues of social harmony and world peace.
32. Miss NASSER (Jordan) said that she could not but view the statement of the representative of the so-called State of Israel in the light of the brutal actions of the Jews In the Middle East during and after the Palestine war. As an example, she recalled that daring the war the Jews had massacred the defenceless population of the large town of Deir Yassin in as horrible a way as the Nazis had murdered Jews, Today there were two classes of citizens in Israel: the Arabs were not allowed to hold high government posts, to own large businesses or farms, or to enjoy the rights and freedoms of the Jewish inhabitants.
33. The Israel representative had spoken of the prevalence of anti-Semitic acts, but the same could be said of anti-Arab acts perpetrated by the Jews. Among the many brutalities committed on the borders of neighbouring Arab States were those involving the villages of Oibya and Nahhalin, whose peaceful and unarmed inhabitants had been annihilated by Jewish forces. He had also spoken of cultural discrimination against the Jews, but that was one of the worst types of discrimination practised against the Arab Inhabitants of Israel. He had spoken of Jews who had been cut off from their own heritage and from Jews in the rest of the world, but surely that could not apply more aptly than to the Arabs in Israel. He had claimed to support the adoption of legislative measures to combat prejudice, but she would ask him whether any such measures had been adopted in Israel. He had spoken of removing prejudice by means of education, but she doubted whether anything in that direction had been achieved in Israel, where the Arabs were treated in all spheres of life as second-class citizens.
34. She knew from her own experience that Jews were treated as absolute equals in Jordan and Lebanon, sad she was sure it was the same in every other Arab country. Prejudice based on colour, race or religion was completely foreign to the Arab way of life. In supporting the draft resolution before the Committee, her delegation sincerely hoped that the day would come when all human beings would treat each other with dignity and respect.
35. Mr. COMAY (Israel), replying to the representative of Jordan, said that in his previous statement he had been careful to avoid any reference to the unfortunate and tragic conflict between Israel and her Arab neighbours, a conflict resulting from the Palestine war which had been unleashed by a group of Arab States in defiance of a United Nations resolution.
36. The allegation that there were first and second-class citizens in Israel and that the second-class citizens—the Arabs—were without any rights was completely false. Arabs formed approximately 10 per cent of the population of Israel and they enjoyed every political, religious and cultural freedom and right. There were Arab members of parliament, mayors, judges, teachers, civil servants and so forth. In fact, the advance of the Arab population since 1948 had been remarkable. The number of Arab municipalities had increased from three to twenty-five, the average income of Arabs was now $1,600 a year and the real value of their earnings had risensixfold. Arab farming methods had been modernized, there had been striking advances in the field of health, and all Israel citizens, regardless of race, were covered by national insurance. There were some security restrictions in the border areas, but they applied to all the inhabitants of those areas and would be abolished speedily if the Arab States accepted Israel's offer to come to the conference table and negotiate a settlement of their differenes.
37. Mr. ATTLEE (United Kingdom) said that, while he could not believe that all men were the same, they

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were all potentially of the same worth. Yet the evils of racial prejudice and national and religious intolerance were wide-spread and in the past had frequently been the cause of wars. The United Kingdom Government fully agreed that something must be done to prevent such manifestations, or ratter that something must be done continuously to combat prejudice and intolerance, which arose mainly from attitudes of the heart and the mind.
38. While it was possible, up to a point, to legislate against such manifestations, that had to be done with caution because it was difficult to outlaw the expression of prejudice and intolerance without circumscribing one of the fundamental freedoms which Members of the United Nations were pledged to promote and encourage under the terms of the Charter: namely, the freedom of all to express their views freely provided they did not infringe the rights and freedoms of others. Moreover, it was important not to give Governments, which could sometimes be unscrupulous, the Justification of a United Nations resolution for introducing measures to oppress freedom of expression.
39. The representative of Israel had referred to recent events in the United Kingdom. The trouble had in fact arisen from the intense rage and fury of the British public at the preachings and activities of a small group of neo-fascists headed by Colin Jordan, a group which numbered less than 100 members in a total population of 55 million. The Secretary of State for Home Affairs had promised to undertake a careful review of existing United Kingdom legislation with a view to strengthening the laws against the deliberate provocation of disorder but his task was not easy since it was essential to maintain the delicate balance between freedom and order. The United Kingdom had hitherto succeeded to maintaining the necessary balance between the two and it hesitated to take any steps that might endanger that balance or the traditional right of free speech.
40. Legislation, in fact, was not the complete answer, which lay in education ana at inculcation in the minds and feelings of men that prejudice and Intolerance based on race, religion, nationality or any other ground were wrong. The power of education, the power to change the nature of man's prejudices and Intolerance, was colossal. The United Kingdom delegation was interested in the work being done by UNESCO in that field and would welcome a report by the UNESCO representative on the progress being made by that organization.
41. The United Kingdom delegation welcomed Economic and Social Council resolution 826 B (XXXII). particularly operative paragraphs 1, 2 and 4, which covered very adequately the question of education, legislation and the co-operation of the specialized agencies and non-governmental organizations. It did not, however, like operative paragraph 3, which could well provide a sanction for oppressing freedom of expression. Nevertheless, his de legation would support the whole resolution in its present terms.
42. While the United Kingdom delegation applauded the motives which had inspired the sponsors of the draft resolution regarding a convention on the elimination of racial discrimination, it was not yet in a position to give Its considered views on the draft resolution but would do so later.
43. Mr. ZULOAGA (Venezuela) felt that It would be useful if Economic and Social Council resolution 826 B (XXXII) and the draft revolution before the Committee were to include a reference to the origin of the United Nations, which had come into being at the end of a terrible war caused by the hateful doctrines of living space and racial superiority. Since racial prejudice and national and religious intolerance were unfortunately still prevalent, it was all the more necessary to bear in mind constantly the terms of the United Nations Charter.
44. His delegation shared to some extent the concern of the United Kingdom representative with regard to operative paragraph 3 of the Economic and Social Council resolution, which might open the door to the suppression of the right of free expression. To avoid that danger be suggested that the words "in every possible way" should be replaced by the words "through education and publicity", thus stressing the importance of education to which the representatives of both Mauritania and the United Kingdom had drawn attention.
45. The sponsors of the draft resolution regarding a convention on the elimination of racial discrimination, which the Venezuelan delegation welcomed, called for the preparation of an international convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination. A multilateral Juridical instrument such as a convention would undoubtedly be of much greater value than a mere resolution, but the drafting of a convention that would be acceptable in terms of the jurisdictions and constitutions of ail Member States would take a considerable time. He therefore felt that a more practical immediate step would be to make the resolution place greater emphasis on the need for education, particularly of adults, who were generally far more intolerant than children.
46. Mrs. LEFLEROVA (Czechoslovakia) said that despite the many resolutions condemning racial prejudice and national and religious intolerance which had been adopted by the United Nations, UNESCO and other bodies, manifestations of such prejudice and intolerance were still wide-spread in many parts of the world and were particularly dangerous in their effects on the rising generation. A typical example was the revival in the Federal Republic of Germany of militarism, irredentism and the concept of racial superiority.
47. Racialism had been accurately described as a social cancer which grew slowly but remorselessly until it enveloped the whole body of society. As a manifestation of colonialism it was particularly acute in Africa, in the form of apartheid in South Africa and the physical annihilation of the population of Angola by the Portuguese authorities. In many parts of the world racism and racial discrimination invaded all facets of life—education, work, housing, public health—and even permeated some scientific circles, which tried to prove the superiority of the white races in order to Justify their continuing domination over peoples struggling for independence.
48. The Czechoslovaks, having suffered from racial discrimination during the Nazi occupation of their country, were keenly aware of the need to abolish all forms of discrimination, which was now forbidden by law in Czechoslovakia. Her delegation would therefore support Economic and Social Council resolution 826 B (XXXII). At the same time it felt that an even more effective instrument was needed to eliminate racial discrimination In all Its forms and since the major responsibility for discrimination lay with Governments, It was prepared to support and to co-sponsor the draft resolution before the Committee, calling for

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the preparation of an international convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination.
49. Such a convention should include a definition of racial hatred and discrimination that included all forms of preaching racial superiority or Incitement to racial hatred; an obligation on the contracting States to prevent, within their territories, any manifestation of hatred based on race or colour; an obligation on the contracting States to make the incitement or mani-festation of racial hatred a criminal offence; and an obligation on the contracting States to carry out, within a specified time-limit, all the legislative, administrative or other measures required for implementation of the convention.
50. The Czechoslovak delegation was prepared to put its proposals in the form of a working piper for sub-mission to the Commission on Human Rights, which should be requested to prepare the draft convention in close co-operation with Governments and to submit it through the Economic and Social Council to the General Assembly for final discussion and approval.
51. Such a convention would do much to help eliminate manifestations of racial discrimination and would represent a logical culmination to the steps already taken in that direction by the United Nations. The' Czechoslovak delegation therefore hoped that the draft resolution on the subject would be approved by the Committee.
The meeting rose at 1 p.m.

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