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Deep Divisions Along Racial and Regional Lines Threatening to Cast Pall Over Close of U.N. Conference in South Africa

Aired September 07, 2001 - 10:06   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Deep divisions along racial and regional lines are threatening to cast a pall over the close of a United Nations conference in South Africa that has generated quite a bit of controversy. The gathering on racism has wrestled with both the Middle East conflict and the legacy of Transatlantic slave trade. And disputes over both of those topics could undermine the intended goal of emerging with an international blueprint to combat racism.

CNN's Charlayne Hunter-Gault has spent the week following the conference. She joins us now from Durban, South Africa.

Charlayne, hello.

CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Leon.

This is a plenary session, which is the concluding session of this conference, is getting under way now with these contentious issues not yet resolved. I have a guest with me, Barbara Anwein, who is with the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

She's been a part of processes like these.

What do you think is happening right now?

BARBARA ARNWINE, LAWYER'S CMTE. FOR CIVIL RIGHTS: A lot is going on right now. The plenary has just started. People are waiting to hear an announcement. They are expecting to hear the announcement of a draft declaration, and that will then go for approval by the whole plenary. And that will become document of this conference -- one of the documents of this conference.

CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT: And then there will be a plan of action?

ARNWINE: Yes. The plan of action, we understand, is not finished. That in fact, as we have heard, that they have reserved the rooms until 3:00 a.m. tomorrow morning to possibly go on, and may have to go on beyond that.

CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT: If they can't agree on these two issue, slavery reparations compensation, and Israeli-Arab issues, what happens?

ARNWINE: If they could not agree, then they would either take them out of the document, or would then suspend the meeting and reconvene the meeting later. Now all of this has been talked about today. It's very flexible, what's going on. It's very hard to read, but it looks like they have in fact reached some important agreements.

CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT: Well, we will know that soon enough.

You know the people here in South Africa as well as all over the world, though, are asking the differences that it will make if they have a plan of action? What difference does it make to Leon over in Atlanta or any of these relatives?

ARNWINE: It makes a big difference for Leon and everyone. The important thing about the plan of action and the important part about the declaration, this this will be the first time in history that the world will be recognizing new, important legal rights involving racial discrimination and xenophobia and other issues. For example, there is no international document that represents the concept of racial profiling, or concludes when people are stopped because of their race or subjected to police scrutiny, or otherwise stopped -- when someone says that you are shopping and wants to look in your bag and thinking because are a certain race, and thinks that you're more likely to be a thief.

CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT: That's a big issue in the United States.

ARNWINE: Oh, absolutely. The other big issue that this conference covers for the first time is environmental racism. It actually says that environmental racism. That is the citing, dumping or otherwise polluting of areas because they are predominantly populated by people of color is in fact a violation of human rights law, and should not be happening, and that nations should do everything in their power to stop it, and will be held accountable, if they do so, if they allow it to happen.

CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT: So it has practical applications for people.

ARNWINE: Absolutely. And for women and for people who are disabled and all kinds of multiple forms of discrimination.

CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT: All right. Barbara Arnwine, thank you for joining us -- Leon.

HARRIS: Charlayne, before we let you go, because it's not very often that we get a chance to talk with you live from Durban, South Africa, let me ask you about another topic. I know that reparations for slavery was also discussed quite a bit there at this conference, but I'm wondering, how was the talk about slavery actually conducted when their are countries in Africa represented at the conference that actually still have slavery practiced in their own nations?

CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT: And that has been an issue here at this conference. In fact, it was a very eloquent series of voices of people talking about their issues, and one of them was a young woman from, I believe, it was Chad or -- I don't want to get the country wrong. But she did come here to talk about her having just escaped from slavery. So I think that the issues that they're addressing for the document are the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, as well as the colonial legacy here. But there has been exposure to modern-day slavery in the process of this conference.

HARRIS: All right, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, thank you very much. Good to see you as usual. We'll talk with you some other time.

Charlayne reporting live from Durban.

CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT: Thank you.

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