The World Conference in Durban provides us with a unique opportunity to chart a new course and finally rid the world of racism. It will require political courage and commitment as well as new and sustainable partnerships to address past and present injustices and to develop a new equitable and just world. In paying tribute to the martyrs who have sacrificed their lives in the struggle against racism and for democracy, we have to remind ourselves that throughout our struggle we have sought to create non-racial societies and have always forgiven rather than sought revenge. Despite the fact that many of our racial problems are rooted in legacies of colonialism, we have to assume responsibility at national and regional levels. It is our duty to respect human dignity which also involves the promotion and protection of human rights including gender equality.
Woman are vulnerable to multiple discrimination including gender discrimination.
Governments, business and religious leaders, and civil societies must form a strong partnership if they are to succeed in fighting against racism, racial discrimination and Xenophobia. We in South Africa inherited a special type of legacy arising out of the Apartheid system. It is a past of a racially divided country, of masters and servants, of racially inspired conflict and mistrust. It is a past of endemic and widespread poverty and gross imbalances in levels of development and the distribution of wealth, income and opportunity. It is a past of an economy that was immersed in a crisis that was destined to worsen.