WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM AND TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL

WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM AND TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL - AFRICA'S MISGUIDED POLICY

The United Nation is organizing “The World Conference Against Racism” (WCAR) which will take place in Durban-South Africa in September of this year. According to UN organizers, It is expected to be a global forum to debate actions against racism worldwide. Also, the UN organizers said many NGOs from all over the world are going to participate. These includes human right organizations, civil right organizations, environment right organizations, religious rights and religious leaders from across the world. The conference is being organized as a marshal plan against World racism.

Two of my heroes among others are late Dr. Martin Lurther King , the respected Civil/human right leader and late Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to be a supreme court judge. Dr. King said on Racism quote“ Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” and Justice Marshall said on Racism quote “ Whether it is a black snake or white snake, all of them do bite and bite hard”. What these great and experienced men tried to let us know is that unjust policies and wrong actions against people can come from any race, ethnicity, religion or creed. Africans and our leaders have missed the point on Racism.

The greatest threat to Africans and the African continent is not white Racism ,and in fact, race relation has improved tremendously compared to say ten years ago in Africa. There are enough majority and people of goodwill of European, American and Asian decent who are helping Africa and Africans to move forward compare to the Racist ones, and the ones that want Africans held back. I think the other races have done more to help themselves and others and trying to correct some of the actions committed against Africans by their forefathers like slavery, colonialism and imperialism etc. The greatest and imminent danger to Africans is Africans themselves and their leaders

The organizers of this Conference against Racism have to be reminded that Africa is on the edge of collapsing , because of the heavy injury and burden of Corruption, Ethnicity, nepotism, health crisis( AIDS, MALARIA, RIVER BLINDNESS, MENINGITIS etc) and lack of education cause by the corrupt leadership of Africa, is more serious than racist actions of some other race of people, which I think has declined drastically than ever before in Africa’s history in the last ten years, at least open racism for that matter.

AFRICANS AND ORGANIZERS OF THIS CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM SHOULD FOCUS AT THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS TO RESTORE A FUTURE FOR THE CONTINENT. THESE ARE THE MAJOR PROBLEMS OF THIS CONTINENT.

(1) Eradication of Ethnic and Religious Instigators. There are ethnic and religious champions and organizations who are fueling wars, conflicts and genocide we are experiencing in Africa- Ruwanda, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Congo and Nigeria etc. These ethnic and religious champions, organizations and individuals should be targeted for committing crime against humanity and they should be identified when there are building the momentum for these problems. We should not just look for them after wars and destruction have taken place. We should make them live in fear and notified them that the world is watching their actions when these problems have not started. These ethnic and religious instigators are hard at work in Nigeria right now, and we should have African conferences to address and stop people like that, before they unleash their ethnic and religious agenda resulting to huge cost in human lives and materials.

(2) The organizers of this conferences on Racism should refocus their energy to programs of conflict resolution which is what we need before wars starts. There should seek to help the Americans, Europeans and other African organizations who have conflict resolution programs in Africa to prevent Wars and conflicts before these wars and conflicts starts. An example of good Conflict resolution programs is the one by the American Government. American Program in Africa for Military and Civilian Conflicts Resolution.

“Total Cost 130 Million ( One hundred and thirty Million dollars) a year Participating countries: 22 countries

(a) Operation Focus Relief $90 million dollars: Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal.

(b) African Crisis Response Initiative $20 million dollars: Senegal, Malawi, Ghana, Benin, Mali, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda.

(C) US Navy AIDS prevention Program: 10 million dollars: South Africa, Botswana, Angola, Kenya, Benin, Zambia, Lesotho, Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Ivory Coast.” (Sources: U.S State Department, U.S Department of Defense and Washington Post July 03, 2001)

(3) On Corruption and the destruction it is inflicting on Africa and African people, I think the organization on Conference against Racism should refocus and try to work closely with Transparency International and the Organization Of Economic Co-operation and Development Convention (OECD) to address , retrieving and repatriating back to Africa all money laundered to Banks in America, Europe and Asia etc from Africa, Stolen Money from African national/public treasury transferred to European, American and Asian Banks etc, Arts and treasure transferred illegally and stolen from Africa. These monies and treasures should be sent back with co-operation from American and Europeans and Asians etc.

(4) Transparency International should explain to Africans why African countries made up the 50 countries with the worst corrupt practices in the world ( I am not doubting Transparency International's work, in fact, I encourage it if it will be very fair to Africans and make Africa better), but Transparency have done nothing to expose and stop the corrupting of Africans by Europeans, Asian and American etc, companies and individuals who practice corrupt business dealings when seeking contracts, lease, licenses and other business ventures in Africa by giving bribe and using influences of their Governments; because it takes two for bribery to happen and we all know how these foreign Companies tends to have their ways and shove Africans around with dirty deals because they can get away with it. Let transparency tell us what they are doing about these foreign companies helping to fuel corruption in Africa. The Index of corrupt/bribery giver country (company) index is very high among European companies and Asian companies and these foreign companies and individuals are corrupting Africa in a very high scale. These are what the conference on Racism should be working on, issues like these and not fringe issue and issue that is hard to prove in this present times and of less importance to Africa now.

(5) Health Conferences/Agenda (AIDS crisis, Malaria, Meningitis etc). According records from health experts and UN agencies, Thirty Million Africans will die in the next 20 years from Aids alone, and with the infection rate and death, the population of Africa which is about 800 million people right now; the projection is that within 50 years if this infection rate and death is not reversed, the population of Africa will decline drastically, because of all these rampant disease with the attendant social crisis like orphaned children, old people with no care and the destruction of Africa’s economy because of lack of productive and healthy population.

In conclusion, I am appealing to Africa NGOs, International organizations, Government and well wishers to please refocus on what is relevant and urgent in the lives of Africans, and not grand standing on issues that will not have immediate relief to the sick continent.

Ugo Harris Nigeria Democracy and Justice Project Washington, DC