Johannesburg, 2 September 2000
Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission,
Ministers, Premiers and MEC’s;
Members of our Legislatures;
Distinguished foreign guests;
Fellow South Africans.
Thirty six years ago, a young man, who was facing the death sentence or a lifetime in prison, in fact a freedom fighter, made the following statement:
"During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society, in which all persons live together, in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for, and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
This man, who 30 years later became the first President of a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist South Africa, emerged from almost three decades in prison, to lead a country and made it his mission to promote national reconciliation.
Today we have realised the ideal of our beloved former President Nelson Mandela, of "a democratic and free society", but the "harmony" and "equal opportunities" still elude us because of the historical legacy of racism that is still with us.
The last three days have sought to bring us into a dialogue about these noble ideals and, I believe, we are now a step closer to the ideal of a society living in harmony and with equal opportunities.
In his opening address, President Mbeki reminded us that "the social and economic structure of our society is such that the distribution of wealth, income, poverty, disease, land, skills, occupations, intellectual resources and opportunities for personal advancement as well as the patterns of human settlement, are determined by the criteria of race and colour."
He ended his address on Wednesday with the question: "what shall we do to end the nightmare" of racism?
We would like to thank President Mbeki for his foresight and leadership as always in initiating this Conference in his State of the Nation Address in February of this year.
I believe that in the last three days we have seen constructive discussions and vigorous debate at this national conference on racism and have made much progress in finding answers to the President’s question, in ending this nightmare that has lasted for more than 350 years.
We have no choice but to end the nightmare, and we can only do this if we are bold and fearless about confronting the racism that is deeply embedded in our society, the racism that continues to dehumanise our people every day.
The Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission, Barney Pityana, sees this First National Conference on Racism in South Africa as an epoch-making event and locates it within a series of significant dialogues that have shaped the very fabric of our society.
The significance of 1910 must not be forgotten.
We saw a process by which English and Afrikaner entered a dialogue that established the Union of South Africa, a state that deliberately excluded the black section of our society and therefore forming the very basis of a racial state. Therefore that dialogue was not a truly national dialogue and it entrenched racism in our society.
Forty-five years later, at the Congress of the People, all South Africans, mainly black but not exclusively so, for all South Africans were invited to participate, engaged in another significant dialogue. This dialogue began to speak about non-racialism and defined how South Africa should be, in complete contrast to the one that occurred in 1910. It went thus:
"We, the People of South Africa, declare for all our country and the world to know:
that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of all the people."
Forty-five years later, we meet in Johannesburg as a nation in dialogue, to plan and strategise how to shape our future and the century that lies ahead, into a non-racial century for the complete eradication of racism in all spheres of life.
It was only ten years ago that all our political parties in this country met in Kempton Park, in the first ever non-racial dialogue. The significance of this multi-party dialogue was that it produced a peaceful settlement that ushered in democracy to our country.
The importance of our present dialogue, as distinguished from those that have gone before, is that every South African has been invited, irrespective of colour, occupation and political affiliation, and thus this meeting is truly all-embracing.
Here the nation is in dialogue, not only its elected representatives.
This is the beginning of a new awareness of our legacy and of the special measures we need to combat racism. This dialogue, that deepens our democracy, has only just begun. Its meanings are only beginning to be clear. But this conscious confrontation of racism is the beginning of our homecoming as a nation. We have agreed to embark on a self-conscious effort against racism that empowers all our citizens to actualise a humanist vision.
This National Conference on Racism has not swept anything under the carpet. We have not carped for a solution from elsewhere. We have not submitted to a false feel-good sentiment.
We should all support the recommendation that an anti-racist movement be formed. Government takes seriously the call for a racism barometer and a racism audit.
Through the initiatives of civil society in partnership with government, we shall indeed go a long way in eradicating racism. This is what has made this conference a resounding success. This is what makes us proud to be South African. This is what reinforces our hope in the future.
I thank you.