Somalia: United Nations (UN) launches anti-racism campaign, reaffirms zero tolerance for discrimination
The United Nations mission in Somalia recently commemorated the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, reaffirming its commitment to zero tolerance for racial discrimination within the UN system.
To mark the day, the UN SHARE Team, the Anti-racism task force of the UN in Somalia, organized several activities to commemorate the 2025 Anti-Racism Awareness week, including an online town hall meeting, launch of an awareness booth, screening of a movie on the negative effects of racism. UN personnel also participated in an awareness caravan, in which conversations on racism and anti-racism were held at several locations within the UN compound. Finally, many UN Somalia staff members also signed a Pledge Wall, where they committed to taking action against racism.
Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1965, the day is observed annually on 21 March, since 1979, through a series of activities and events to show solidarity with people fighting against racism and racial discrimination.
'Let me begin by underscoring that there is absolutely zero tolerance for racism and racial discrimination in the UN in Somalia,' said the Acting UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia, James Swan, at the town hall co-hosted with United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) Director of Mission Support and Officer in Charge, Ms. Qurat ul-Ain Sadozai.
Given the theme of the Anti-racism Week, 'Let's talk About Racism!', the two officials reaffirmed the UN's commitment to combating racism and promoting an inclusive and equitable environment.
'For those of you who experience or witness incidents of racial discrimination, I wish to remind you that there are available channels to report racism without fear of retaliation,' Mr. Swan said, adding that, 'racial discrimination is prohibited conduct in the UN, with serious consequences.''
The top UN official emphasised the need for sustained efforts to raise awareness about existing reporting channels, aiming to combat racism and build trust and confidence in the UN's internal justice mechanisms.
'If we don't engage in discussions about it, and take action to combat it at interpersonal, institutional and structural levels, we may, in fact, allow it to perpetuate and thus contribute to an environment of disharmony and division, rather than one of dialogue, understanding and inclusion,' said Mr Swan.
Ms. Sadozai commended the SHARE Team for organizing the event to raise awareness on racial discrimination and promote equity and inclusivity.
'This is a stark reminder for all of us to raise our voice in solidarity and make a concerted effort to promote a world free of racial discrimination. Racism continues to impact our world, and addressing it is as important as ever,' said Ms. Sadozai, noting that combating racism resonates with the UN's four core values of inclusion, integrity, humility and humanity.
'At the UN, we work in a multi-cultural and racially diverse environment, and it is incumbent upon us to individually uphold values of mutual respect, tolerance and equality. There is no place for bias, discrimination, and exclusion within our organization and our operations, and as such, there must be zero tolerance for any form of racism and discrimination.'
Senior UN officials attended the event, including World Food Programme (WFP) Country Representative Elkahdir Daloum, who represented UN Resident and Humanitarian Co-ordinator for Somalia, George Conway. Mr. Daloum praised the appointment of Anti-Racism Advocates and welcomed the inclusion of UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes in efforts to combat racism.
Presentations were made by the Anti-Racism Advocates from the UN in Somalia, Deryck Fritz and Cristina Gavazzo, as well as SHARE Team coordinators Michelle Doerlemann and Mohamoud Ali Ahmed from the UN Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNTMIS) and Nicolas Kimwele from UNSOS. Additionally, over 350 UN staff from various sectors and Agencies, Funds and Programmes attended virtually.
One of the highlights of the online town hall was the presentation of the results of the SHARE Team's anti-racism perception survey, the Pulse Check, which gathered data on the self-identification of UN personnel, their understanding of racism, their personal experience with racism in the workplace, and the perception of the diversity of the UN leadership and the workforce in general.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Today
15 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Trump's new travel ban goes into effect against citizens of 12 nations
President Donald Trump's sweeping new travel ban came into effect early on Monday immediately after midnight, barring citizens from a dozen nations from entering the United States and reviving a divisive measure from his first term. The move is expected to disrupt refugee pathways and further restrict immigration as the Trump administration expands its crackdown on illegal entries. Many of the nations covered by the restrictions have adversarial relations with the United States, such as Iran and Afghanistan, while others face severe crises, like Haiti and Libya. In announcing his restrictions last week, Trump said the new measure was spurred by a recent "terrorist attack" on Jews in Colorado. The group had been protesting in solidarity with hostages held in Gaza when they were assaulted by a man the White House said had overstayed his visa. That attack, Trump said, "underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted" or who overstay their visas. The move bans all travel to the United States by nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, according to the White House. Trump also imposed a partial ban on travelers from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Some temporary work visas from those countries will be allowed. New countries could be added, Trump warned, "as threats emerge around the world." Mehria, a 23-year-old woman from Afghanistan who applied for refugee status, said the new rules have trapped her and many other Afghans in uncertainty. "We gave up thousands of hopes and our entire lives... on a promise from America, but today we are suffering one hell after another," she told AFP. World Cup, Olympics, diplomats excluded The ban will not apply to athletes competing in the 2026 World Cup, which the United States is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico, or in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Trump's order said. Nor will it apply to diplomats from the targeted countries. United Nations rights chief Volker Turk warned that "the broad and sweeping nature of the new travel ban raises concerns from the perspective of international law." US Democratic lawmakers and elected officials blasted the ban as draconian and unconstitutional. "I know the pain that Trump's cruel and xenophobic travel bans inflict because my family has felt it firsthand," congresswoman Yassamin Ansari, who is Iranian-American, posted Sunday on X. "We will fight this ban with everything we have." Rumours of a new travel ban had circulated following the Colorado attack, with Trump's administration vowing to pursue "terrorists" living in the United States on visas. US officials said suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman, an Egyptian national according to court documents, was in the country illegally having overstayed a tourist visa, but that he had applied for asylum in September 2022. Trump's new travel ban notably does not include Egypt. His proclamation said Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and war-torn Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen lacked "competent" central authorities for processing passports and vetting. Iran was included because it is a "state sponsor of terrorism," the order said. For the other countries, Trump's order cited an above-average likelihood that people would overstay their visas. Agence France-Presse
Middle East Eye
15 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
North African 'resilience convoy' heads to Gaza, aiming to break Israel's siege
A grassroots land convoy is travelling thousands of kilometres from the Tunisian capital to Gaza on Monday, in the hopes of breaking Israel's debilitating 18-year siege on the war-battered Palestinian enclave. Thousands of volunteers from Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia left the Tunisian capital in a 100-vehicle convoy to raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and deliver life-saving aid, organisers said. The United Nations has described Gaza as the "hungriest place on Earth", with nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death. "The convoy will express solidarity with the Palestinian people under siege and deliver humanitarian aid to them," the coordination group said in a statement. "Participants in the convoy will head to the Ras Jedir crossing on the Tunisian-Libyan border, and travel along the Libyan coastal road to Cairo, then to the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian-Palestinian border, to deliver messages of solidarity and aid to the Palestinians in Gaza," it added. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The "Soumoud" convoy, which means resilience and steadfastness in Arabic, is reported to include trade union and political figures, as well as human rights activists, athletes, lawyers, doctors, journalists, and members of youth organisations. It remains unclear, however, whether the convoy will actually reach the besieged Gaza Strip, as Egyptian officials have yet to authorise the convoy's entry into North Sinai. "This is a message to the people of Gaza: You are not alone," Sheikh Yahya Sari, a member of the Algerian Association of Muslim Scholars, said in a Facebook post. "We share your pain, and this is a form of public pressure against the occupier in the face of international failure to stop the massacres." Earlier on Monday, Israeli forces seized control of a charity vessel aiming to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip and detained its crew of 12, including activist Greta Thunberg. Gaza flotilla: The Madleen shows us the world as it could be Read More » The British-flagged yacht Madleen, operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was aiming to deliver a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula, to Gaza later on Monday. However, the boat was intercepted in the early hours of Monday, hours after Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, said that Israel's military would use "any means necessary" to stop it from breaching the naval blockade of Gaza. In recent years, several ships have attempted to break Israel's land, sea and naval blockade on the Gaza Strip, but have repeatedly been pushed back by Israeli forces. In 2010, the Mavi Marmara flotilla mission was attacked by Israeli forces who boarded the ship and killed ten activists. And last month, another vessel organised by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the Conscience, failed to continue its journey to Gaza after being struck by two drones near Maltese waters. Since October 2023, over 54,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, according to Palestinian health and government officials, including more than 28,000 women and girls. The figure also includes at least 1,400 health sector professionals, 280 UN aid workers - the highest staff death toll in UN history - and nearly 190 journalists, the highest number of media workers killed in conflict since the Committee to Protect Journalists began recording data in 1992.
Dubai Eye
16 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
UN urges ratification of treaty to protect the planet's fragile oceans
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged world leaders to ratify a treaty that would allow nations to establish protected marine areas in international waters, warning that human activity was destroying ocean ecosystems. Guterres, speaking at the opening of the third UN Ocean Conference in Nice, cautioned that illegal fishing, plastic pollution and rising sea temperatures threatened delicate ecosystems and the people who depend on them. "The ocean is the ultimate shared resource. But we are failing it," Guterres said, citing collapsing fish stocks, rising sea levels and ocean acidification. Oceans also provide a vital buffer against climate change, by absorbing around 30 per cent of planet-heating CO2 emissions. But as the oceans heat up, hotter waters are destroying marine ecosystems and threatening the oceans' ability to absorb CO2. "These are symptoms of a system in crisis - and they are feeding off each other. Unravelling food chains. Destroying livelihoods. Deepening insecurity." The High Seas Treaty, adopted in 2023, would permit countries to establish marine parks in international waters, which cover nearly two-thirds of the ocean and are largely unregulated. Hitherto, only an estimated 1 per cent of international waters, known as the "high seas", have been protected. The drive for nations to turn years of promises into meaningful protection for the oceans comes as US President Donald Trump pulls the United States and its money out of climate projects and as some European governments weaken green policy commitments as they seek to support anaemic economies and fend off nationalists. The United States has not yet ratified the treaty and will not do so during the conference, Rebecca Hubbard, director of The High Seas Alliance, said. French President Emmanuel Macron, the conference's co-host, told delegates that 50 countries had now ratified the treaty and that another 15 had promised to do so. The treaty will only come into force once 60 countries ratify it. Macron's foreign minister said he expected that would happen before the end of the year. The United States has not sent a high-level delegation to the conference. "It's not a surprise, we know the American administration's position on these issues," Macron told reporters late on Sunday. Britain's Prince William on Sunday said protecting the planet's oceans was a challenge "like none we have faced before". Investments in ocean health totalled just $10 billion from 2015-2019 - far below the $175 billion per year needed, the UN has said.
