UNCHS
STATEMENT OF
THE UNITED NATIONS CENTRE FOR HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
UNCHS
TO THE WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM,
RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, XENOPHOBIA AND RELATED INTOLERANCE
Durban, South Africa
3 September 2001
PRESENTED BY
DR. ANNA KAJUMULO TIBAIJUKA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR UNCHS
The Chairperson,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related
Intolerance, presents a unique opportunity for us to think of all the people
around the world, who have been struggling for the defeat of all kinds of discrimination.
The victorious fight of the people of South Africa against the apartheid system
gives us hope to consider that racism and all kinds of institutionalized discrimination
can be successfully fought and eradicated from our human settlements. At Habitat,
the United Nations Centre responsible for human settlements, we are committed
to helping the international communiyt build a common human society of mutual
understanding, nonracism, non-sexism, human dignity and prosperity for all.
However, the world is still suffering front deep divisions and alienation, simply
because nations, peoples and communities belonging to different groups adhere
to different values. Uneven distribution of socio-economic advantage, especially
within countries and and marginalization worldwide. This leads to a or village,
there is spatial segregation that separates cities, has created further division
deepening of tensions. In every town people.
At the core of many of the conflicts the world is facing
today, are religious, ethnic and cultural differences often exploited for reasons
of economic advantage. The resulting xenophobia and discrimination on the basis
of group characteristics increasingly present major challenges to the governance
of cities and towns. And no nation is exempted from these challenges.
Eliminating intolerance and discrimination goes hand in hand with the promotion
of inclusive cities for all that actively encourages integration and full participation,
regardless of our differences.
The Chairperson,
An unprecedented 50 percent of the world's total population
currently lives in cities. Nobody can fail to notice that urban density -and
the physical proximities they imply - have reinforced a human need to seek comfort
and protection from in-group cultures. Increasingly, this is leading not only
to urban spatial segregation, but also to conflict on the basis of variations
among such groups. Rather than utilizing the variances to create multi-cultural
communities that build on each other's aggregate knowledge and wisdom, the world
is sliding deeper into patterns of polarization.
Through its mandate as contained in the Habitat Agenda, the United Nations Centre
for Human Settlements is fully committed to the elimination of all undesirable
forms of societal polarization, discrimination and exclusion.
The spatial concentration of population groups is not a new phenomenon. Societies
have segregated their inhabitants for thousands of ears - most commonly along
socioeconomic lines. Sheer life-style differences between social groupings make
it inevitable that central cities will be demographically different from suburbs.
However, spatial segregation between social groupings may facilitate the building
of urban communities, by strengthening group identity without necessarily raising
questions of equity.
Spatial segregation often has socio-economic reasons. Increased land and housing
prices can force lower-income groups out of certain areas, while fear of violence
frequently leads to a voluntary form of segregation. The latter is the case
with so-called "Gated Communities" - fortified upper-income residential
enclaves where private companies provide security for those who can afford it
and from which "unwanted elements" can be barred.
But urban spatial segregation is increasingly no longer simply
expressing socio-economic differences. Rather, it is becoming the spatial embodiment
of urban fragmentation and societal breakdown. It has become the physical expression
of xenophobia, racism and discrimination and the legitimatization of `irreconcilable'
inequalities. Along these lines, legal frameworks can be created for institutionalizing
the separation of social groupings. In every city, the streets tell their own
story about social apartheid. 1 Here in South Africa, this was the case with
the former apartheid regime. As President Mbeki has said there is something
"both pathetic and dramatic about the difference between human fulfillment
and human degradation".
Segregation can be a major factor in reinforcing disadvantage and exclusion.
It may lead to the formation of underclass ghetto- or slum-communities with
restricted geographic and social mobility. Thus urban spatial segregation is
the first step on the way to societal breakdown, socio-cultural fragmentation
and divided cities.
Urban spatial segregation has distinct geographic faces. In developing countries,
the lowest-income groups become concentrated within informal settlements, without
services like sanitation, water or electricity. In industrialized countries,
spatial segregation frequently takes on ethnic and cultural dimensions in addition
to socio-economic variation. All over the world there are an estimated one billion
poor people living without adequate shelter or basic services. For the poor,
spatial discrimination is equated with life chances. The issues of urban spatial
segregation are about whether people from socio-economic groups, different cultures,
and different ethnic groups mix with each other or not. In other words, the
critical question is whether we will allow our cities to be an amalgamation
of segregated small worlds, or whether we want them to become the stage for
cultural interaction and exchange. Do we want our social spaces to encourage
learning about difference or learning from difference? Are our cities for everyone
or just for those wealthy or socially secure enough to partake in and enjoy
the benefits of urban life?
We have much more to understand regarding the social problems in and among segregated
urban areas. There is an urgent need for multidimensional urban policy responses
that promote economic adaptation to globalizing economies, while cushioning
social dislocations caused by economic decline. Even in countries where multiculturalism
is declared a national policy, indifference, xenophobia and outright segregation
can still be a problem.
Recent urban research, as shown in Habitat's Global Report on Human Settlements
and The State of the World's Cities Report, suggests that national and local
political conditions influence discrimination and inequality. Cities with a
tradition of popular action and active networks of community-based organizations
are more able to deal with segregation and discrimination issues than polarized
cities that are more dependent on private investment and conservative politics.
Through participation in community organizations, minority groups can partake
in local political discussion in order to create an intercultural arena for
the formal negotiation of differences. Civic life requires settings in which
people meet as equals. Cities and towns should be inclusive where people meet
without regard to race, class, national origin, gender or religion.
The Chairperson,
The United Nations Centre for Human Settlements is committed and determined
to help the world eliminate social exclusion, discrimination and societal polarization.
We aim at making the world's cities and other human settlements more inclusive
for the poor and vulnerable groups, reaffirming the right to non-discrimination
in general and, in particular, the right' to an adequate standard of living
for all.
It is critical that we place housing and discrimination within the context of
the indivisibility and universality of human rights. With a majority of the
global population living in cities, our urban environments are central to the
realization of human rights. A future of cities without slums, but of livable
neighbourhoods and healthy communities is not possible if our cities do not
function. Cities will not work if they are not inclusive or if they are politically,
economically and socially divided. We cannot continue living in segregated cities.
Today, we at Habitat join members of the international community to commit ourselves
to creating a world without discrimination and to cities without segregation.
In the urban millennium, when over half of humanity lives in cities and towns,
there is an urgent need for concerted national action and international cooperation
and support, backed by solidarity at all levels.
Together we can ensure that our children will one day live in human settlements
without racial discrimination, Xenophobia and related intolerance.
Thank you.