2 November 2019
By: Elizabeth Cole
Introduction
On the 16th November each year, the International Day of Tolerance is celebrated to raise awareness of the principles of tolerance. The day is meant to promote mutual acceptance and understanding, both of and among different communities and groups. Such a principle lies at the core of UN values, integral to the upholding of both the UN Charter and the UN Declaration of Human Rights.
 Image: TheSchoolRun.com |
This day has been recognised from 1995 as a component of UNESCO’s Declaration of the Principles on Tolerance and celebrated as an international day since 1996. To mark this day, every two years, UNESCO awards a prize to any institutions, organisations or persons that promote the ‘spirit of tolerance and non-violence’[1] through specific activities in the scientific, cultural, artistic or communication fields.
What is tolerance?
UNESCO’s 1995 Declaration of Principles on Tolerance defined tolerance as ‘respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world’s cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human’[2]. Beyond being a moral duty, it is also a political and legal requirement, involving the rejection of dogmatism and the acceptance of the fact that human beings, beyond their physical, situational, linguistic or behavioural differences, have the right to live peacefully without changing who they are. It also necessitates that certain views are not to be imposed on others.
Tolerance and human rights should be seen as closely inter-linked, since a more tolerant society has, accordingly, greater respect for the human rights of its members. Moreover, the promotion of tolerance is necessary in order to effectively uphold the principles of international law.
Tolerance and the UN: UN Declaration of the Principles on Tolerance, 16 November 1995
The United Nations published a Declaration of Principles on 16 November 1995 to offer their views on what tolerance is and how it can be best upheld and protected in society. This document declared that six necessary measures must be taken to ensure that tolerance is effectively promoted:
1 – That the meaning of tolerance is clear.
As outlined above, the declaration claimed the definition of tolerance to be ‘respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world’s cultures, our forms of expression, and ways of being human’[3]. This necessitates an active attitude of acceptance towards others, accepting the natural diversity of the world population and allowing different communities to live peacefully as they are.
2 – That action is taken on a state level.
Tolerance at the state level requires legislation to be just and impartial, to ensure that opportunities are available to each person without discrimination, and that no communities are excluded or marginalised.
 Image: 1234RF |
This suggests that action should be taken on the social as well as state level – such as at the family and community levels, in schools and universities, in the media and in different social groups. It also necessitates that particular attention should be paid to vulnerable groups to ensure that they have suitable societal provisions and protections, and studies and networking should be undertaken to enable the international community to respond to this challenge, such as the analysis of the root causes of social inequality. – That the social dimensions of tolerance are promoted.
4 – That education is used to fight against intolerance.
Education is considered the most effective means of preventing intolerance, and thus the UN considers it an ‘urgent imperative’[4] – arguing that it should be used to teach people about their shared rights and freedoms, to counter influences that lead to fear and exclusion and to develop capacities of independent judgement. The UN thus directly pledges to support programmes of research and education to spread awareness of the principles of tolerance, such as improving teacher training, the curriculum and the content of educational resources and technologies.
5 – That we are committed to act against intolerance.
The UN declares that we must be committed to promoting the principles of tolerance and non-violence in the fields of education, science, culture and communication.
6 – That the International Day for Tolerance is celebrated to raise awareness of the principles of tolerance worldwide.
This final principle proclaimed the 16th November as the annual International Day for Tolerance, launched to increase awareness of the principles of tolerance and the danger of intolerance for communities and societies worldwide.
Contemporary challenges to tolerance
 Photo: TIME |
As globalisation accelerates, societies across the world are undergoing ‘deep transformation’.[5] And, while opportunities for communication across communities multiply, so do opportunities for people to challenge the principle of tolerance. Indeed, the rise of the separatist politics of the far right has pushed people to identify with intolerant attitudes; for example, isolating some groups while openly favouring others. Such an attitude is not only highly ignorant, it also goes against the international principles of tolerance. Moreover, in the ‘age of terrorism’[6], the principles of tolerance are being openly challenged by groups who employ violent means ‘designed to weaken the fabric of “living together”’.[7] This needs to be confronted directly if the principles of global tolerance are to be upheld.
Furthermore, Iraq, along with multiple states and societies marred by protest across the last month, has seen widespread disrespect for the principles of tolerance, especially by the Government’s security forces. Indeed, tolerance is as much about encouraging societies to respect the right of groups to fight injustices within society as it is about promoting mutual respect and understanding between different groups. In the case of Iraq, the demonstrators are protesting years of rampant government corruption - which has brought about the long-term unjust distribution of services and resources. This also evidently an example of societal intolerance in action.
Intolerance and the UN: United Nations’ stance on countering Intolerance
The United Nations states that there are five key ways of countering intolerance:
1 – Law
Each government is responsible for enforcing human rights laws and for banning discrimination and maltreatment of minorities and disadvantaged groups. The state should also ensure that equal access to the courts and to other legal and non-legal mechanisms are ensured, and that all groups are treated fairly and evenly.
2 – Education
 Photo: UN |
Given that intolerance is often ‘rooted in ignorance and fear’, whether that may be fear of the unknown, of the other, or of different nations, cultures and religions, and closely linked to ‘an exaggerated sense of self-worth and pride’, education is required to prevent these notions from developing at a young age.[8] Education is required to ensure that people are tolerant of all societies and cultures.
3 – Access to Information
Intolerance is especially dangerous when it enables people to fulfil political and territorial ambitions of an intolerant nature. Such ‘hatemongers’ often manipulate the ‘tolerance threshold’ of a given society, using it to their advantage by developing false arguments and employing false statistics to support them. As such, a key means of fighting intolerance is to develop policies that promote freedom of speech, especially by encouraging press pluralism and freedom of the press. By giving the public access to multiple sources of information, which enables them to differentiate between fact and opinion and come to their own judgements.
4 – Individual Awareness
Given that societal intolerance is made up of the intolerance of individual members – from bigotry to stereotyping and racial jokes – it is necessary for individuals to become aware of their intolerant behaviour in order to fight against it on a societal level. Indeed, this is also necessary for issues such as violence and mistrust in a society to be tackled, given that a culture of ignorance breeds such behaviours and attitudes.
5 – Local Solutions
While the problems of intolerance may appear mostly on the global stage, few realise that the solutions to the problems are mostly local. Indeed, it is not enough to wait for governments and institutions to act. Each individual can protest and fight against intolerance, either by having tolerant attitudes themselves or by organise a grassroots movement or network to work towards putting an end to intolerance, violence and hatred.
The International Day for Tolerance: Laureates of the UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence, 2018
A key part of this International Day revolves around recognising key institutions, organisations or figures that have been especially influential in the promotion of the principles of tolerance. These are awarded every two years, with the latest prizes having been awarded in 2018, and the next expected to be awarded in 2020. In 2018, the laureates of the UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence were Manon Barbeau, Canadian filmmaker and President and Founder of Wapikoni Mobile, and The Coexist Initiative, an NGO from Kenya.
Manon Barbeau was recognised for her contribution to indigenous cultures through the initiative Wapikoni Mobile, a ‘traveling training and audiovisual creation studio’[9] , which organises educational workshops, film screenings and training activities to educate indigenous youths on the subjects of audiovisual creation and to raise awareness of an celebrate ‘indigenous cultures, languages and identities’ . Barbeau placed particular stress of giving such people a voice and on recognising and celebrating their rights and identities.
The Coexist Initiative in Kenya, in contrast, was recognised for its promotion of gender equality, social justice and human rights. Taking an ‘innovative and inclusive approach’[10], it seeks to tackle gender-based stereotypes and practices in Kenyan society, and looks to include men, boys and community leaders directly in the work of the organisation.
 Photo: UNESCO |
GICJ position and recommendations
On the acknowledgement of this International Day of Tolerance, Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) re-iterates that states and their citizens should use all available means and measures to condemn and prevent all acts of intolerance, and to spread awareness of the principles and practices of tolerance globally. In a world ridden with far-right extremism, governmental corruption, societal injustice and conflict, policies and laws devoted to the spread of the principles of tolerance should be a key priority. Therefore, GICJ urges all those in positions of authority to do all that they can to spread awareness of the principles of tolerance, work towards better assimilation of such principles in societies across the world, and fight against contemporary challenges to tolerance on a national and international scale.
[1] United Nations, International Day for Tolerance 16 November, 2009, https://www.un.org/en/events/toleranceday/
[2] United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Day for Tolerance, 2018, https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/toleranceday
[3] United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Day for Tolerance, 2018, https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/toleranceday
[4] United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Declaration of Principles on Tolerance, 1995, http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13175&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
[5] Social and Human Sciences, Promoting Tolerance, 2012, http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/fight-against-discrimination/promoting-tolerance/
[6] G. Koukos, The Age of Terrorism?, The Perspective, 27 March 2018, http://www.theperspective.se/the-age-of-terrorism/
[7] United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International day for Tolerance -16 November 2017, 2017, http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/events/prizes-and-celebrations/celebrations/international-day-for-tolerance/
[8] Social and Human Sciences, Promoting Tolerance, 2012, http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/fight-against-discrimination/promoting-tolerance/
[9] United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Manon Barbeau and The Coexist Initiative, winners of the 2018 UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize, 26 November 2018, https://en.unesco.org/news/manon-barbeau-and-coexist-initiative-winners-2018-unesco-madanjeet-singh-prize
[10] United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Manon Barbeau and The Coexist Initiative, winners of the 2018 UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize, 26 November 2018, https://en.unesco.org/news/manon-barbeau-and-coexist-initiative-winners-2018-unesco-madanjeet-singh-prize
*Intro Image Source: Medium.
Keywords:
International Day of Tolerance, UN Declaration of the Principles on Tolerance, Education, UNESCO, Justice, Geneva, Human Rights, Geneva4Justice
Justice, Human rights, Geneva, geneva4justice, GICJ, Geneva International Centre For Justice
