COMMENT | Govt failing to combat racial, religious intolerance

COMMENT | The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was established in 1966 by the United Nations General Assembly (Unga).

It is observed annually on March 21 and serves as a vital reminder of our collective responsibility to combat racism, promote tolerance, and strive for a more equitable world.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Adopted by the Unga in 1948, states that everyone is entitled to fundamental rights and freedoms without distinction of any kind, regardless of race, colour, religion, language, national or social origin, political, or other statuses.

One of the key principles of the UDHR is the rejection of any doctrine of racial superiority. The general assembly also emphasised that any doctrine of racial superiority is scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust and dangerous, and must be rejected, together with theories that attempt to determine the existence of separate human races.

Despite the principles enshrined in the UDHR, the rise of xenophobia, racism, racial discrimination, and intolerance in our nation is very alarming. Today, racism is a pervasive and persistent problem that continues to plague our nation in the form of discrimination, division, distrust, intolerance, and hate...