Chairperson
Excellencies
Madame High Commissioner
Distinguished Delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen

Following the decision of the General Assembly by its resolution 52/111 of December 1997, to convene the Third World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, representatives of the world community will congregate on the City of Durban, South Africa to collectively address one of the most serious challenges of our times.

This Conference is taking place when racism is clearly on the rise in almost all regions of the world. Though subtle racism is practised everyday, we are also witnessing violent clashes between communities from time to time fuelled by racism. We must therefore be bold to confront racism head on. To pretend that it does not exist is futile. It will not be enough to deal with each incident of racism but all the policies and laws we pass, we must keep to create a society and an environment, which makes racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerances unacceptable. This conference therefore presents us with a historic opportunity at the very beginning of the century to come up with a declaration and programme of action that presents concrete measures to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerances.

In South Africa, the guiding vision as we build a new society after the tragedy of apartheid, is non-racialism and non-sexism. Having destroyed apartheid through an unprecedented human effort of brave men and women in South Africa and the international community as a whole, we are inspired in part by the word of President Thabo Mbeki on the occasion of the adoption by the Constitutional Assembly of the Republic of South Africa's Constitution. Allow me to quote in part what he said because it captures not only what South Africa is doing but what the world should do:

On an occasion such as this, we should, perhaps, start from the beginning.

So, let me begin.

I am an African.

I owe my being to the Khoi and the San whose desolate souls haunt the great expanses of the beautiful Cape - they who fell victim to merciless genocide our native land has ever seen, they who were the first to loose their lives in the struggle to use our freedom and dependence and they who, as a people, perished in the result.

Today, as a country, we keep an audible silence about these ancestors of the generations that live, fearful to admit the horror of a former deed, seeking to obliterate from our memories a cruel occurrence which, in its remembering, should teach us not and never to be inhuman again.

In my veins courses the blood of the Malay slaves who came from the East. Their proud dignity informs my bearing, their culture a part of my essence. The stripes they bore on their bodies from the lash of the slave master are a reminder embossed on my consciousness of what should not be done.

I come of those who were transported from India and China, whose being resided in the fact, solely, that they were able to provide physical labour, who taught me that we could both be at home and be foreign, who taught me that human existence itself demanded that freedom was a necessary condition for that human existence.

I know what it signifies when race and colour is used to determine who is human, and who sub-human.

I have experience of the situation of which race and colour is used to enrich some and impoverish the rest.

I have seen concrete expression of the denial of the dignity of a human being emanating from the conscious, systematic, and systematic oppressive and repressive activities of other human beings.

The constitution whose adoption we celebrate constitutes an unequivocal statement that we refuse to accept that our Africanness shall be defined by our race, colour, and gender of historical origins.

It seeks to create a situation in which all our people shall be free, including the fear of oppression of one national group by another, the fear of the disempowerment of one social echelon by another, the fear of the use of state power to deny anybody their fundamental human rights and the fear of tyranny.

It rejoices in the diversity of our people and creates the space for all of us voluntary to define ourselves as one people.

This is what defines our present reality and the future we are aspiring to, this is true of South Africa but is true for most countries in the world.

The social and economic disparities as they exist today exacerbate racial division, racial discrimination and related contemporary intolerance. If these challenges are to be fully addressed, political, economic and social equity must be established, and full access to resources for all should be ensured. The huge gap between the poor and rich, and the increasing number of vulnerable groups, demands that concerted efforts be made, both at national and international levels to adopt appropriate corrective measures and ensure their effective enforcement.

No country is untouched by these inequalities and the scourges of racism. We therefore not only need to rededicate ourselves to the total eradication of racism, but also to revitalise and enhance the capacity of all the relevant institutions and instruments. We should not relent in our serious efforts to continuously teach and sensitise our law enforcement agencies and public servants to abide by these instruments.

We must not underestimate the role of women as agents for change; women are well placed in nurturing future generations away from racism towards a non-racial society.

Mindful of these challenges, the preparatory processes for the World Conference resulted in texts from expert and regional conference all of which should inform our endeavours to come up with an appropriate text in Durban, These are positive steps. Accordingly, the efforts that went into these processes from all regions are deeply appreciated. At the end of the process, we should be able to say, without any fear of contradiction, that our efforts would make a significant change to the conditions of the millions of ordinary people who are victims of racism and racial discrimination. This is a measure against which history will judge us. At the end of the process, we should be able to say with confidence that our contributions are such that they are honestly commensurate to the task.

In the spirit of progress, we have no option but to produce a workable document to honour the memories of the fallen victims of slavery, slave trade, racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia. The foundation for a better tomorrow must be laid today. In this respect, we refer to the past in order to inform the present and to build a better future.

We must rise above narrow national and group positions and begin to work as partners in order to facilitate consensus. We should not shy away from confronting critical and difficult issues, in the hope that they will disappear. The task before us, therefore, is to ensure that meaningful progress is made in order to lay the foundation for a breakthrough in the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

The constructive engagement and desire to make progress should inform our deliberations. The avenue of flexibility demonstrated by some delegations during the process is indicative of the commitment to make this conference a success. In order to ensure success, we therefore need to continue to bring creative problem solving mechanisms to the negotiating table. To this end, let us find innovative ways to advance the process and develop a basis for a meeting of minds on those issues where there are apparent differences.

Therefore, the Durban Conference must provide a basis for the establishment of prompt and effective remedial measures, underpinned by a mid-term review, framework to ensure the necessary follow-up. All of our people, regardless of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status - cherish a hope that this golden opportunity to create a better world for all - is not missed. We need to ensure that we discharge the mandate entrusted to us by the UN General Assembly in December 1997. If we fail to meet these expectations, history will judge us harshly.

I am confident that we are going to rise to this challenge if we were able collectively to make South Africa democratic; we can collectively rid the world of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. I wish you all the best. We look forward to welcoming you to our beautiful city of Durban.

I thank you!