Is there any information about the United Nations dealing with racial discrimination?

The unfair treatment suffered by victims of racial discrimination and related intolerance is well known: limited employment opportunities; Isolation; And widespread poverty are just a few examples of unfair treatment. People are also familiar with the disadvantages faced by women all over the world in society: different pay for equal work; High illiteracy rate; It's more difficult to see a doctor. Although race is one cause of inequality and gender is another, they are not mutually exclusive forms of discrimination. They are often intertwined, forming compound discrimination or double discrimination.

For many women, factors related to social identity such as race, color, ethnicity and country of origin become "different factors that have an impact". These factors may lead to some women-specific problems, or have a greater impact on some women than others.

Consider the social barriers faced by Roma women living in Eastern Europe. As a member of Roma, few people claim their rights and interests, and they are often hostile targets. Because she is a minority, she is excluded from the community; Because she is a woman, she has a low position in the family. Australian aborigines, Indian women in Dapu Zhengsu, British asylum seekers and so on. These women live at the crossroads of gender discrimination and racial discrimination.

Even without considering racial factors, statistics on the situation of women in the world show that women still have a long way to go to achieve equality with men. According to a recent report of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), women are lagging behind in many major indicators to measure progress in achieving gender equality and empowering women.

The literacy rate of women in the world is 7 1.4%, while that of men is 83.7%. Of the 960 million illiterate adults, two thirds are women. The gender gap in income still exists, and the income of women employed in industry and service industry is often only 78% of that of men in the same industry. During the period of 1990, in 28 countries, the proportion of women in decision-making positions only reached 30%. In addition, 654.38+03 billion people live in poverty, 70% of whom are women.

If women's experiences include racial factors, the double burden of gender discrimination, racial discrimination and related intolerance will become more and more obvious. Areas of particular concern include the disadvantaged situation faced by ethnic minority women in the labour market, trafficking in women and ethnic-based violence against women.

In many societies, minority women, immigrant women and indigenous women have limited employment opportunities and are often at the bottom of the labor market. Many of these women are employed in free trade zones, informal sectors or unregulated sectors. Maurice Glele-Ahanhanzo, investigator and rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on contemporary forms of racial discrimination, studied the situation of ethnic minority women in the labor market during her visit to Brazil from 65438 to 0995. He concluded that "black women have the lowest wages (four times lower than white men), and most of them are employed in some of the most unhealthy places, working three times a day and facing three times of discrimination."

Radhika, Special Rapporteur on violence against women. In his report to the Commission on Human Rights, Coomaraswamy talked about another serious aspect of compound discrimination, namely, trafficking in women. In her report, she pointed out that the exploitation of immigrants by traffickers "puts women in a situation where they can't get legal protection or can only get negligible protection." The forms of violence against women who try to exercise their freedom of movement are obviously rape, torture, arbitrary execution, deprivation of liberty, forced labor and forced marriage, but they are not limited to the above forms. "

Ms Coomaraswamy directly linked the anti-immigration policy and the lack of equal opportunities for women to the phenomenon of trafficking in women. In her report, she pointed out that "the policy of restricting and excluding immigrants is an important factor for the persistence and spread of human trafficking." If women have no rights or such rights are not protected by the state, and if they do not have equal education and employment opportunities, they are more vulnerable than men.

Violence against women based on ethnicity or race is regarded as the most obvious example of intersectional discrimination. Rape incidents in Bosnia, Kosovo, Burundi and Rwanda are obviously gender-based violence against women based on race. In addition, due to ethnic conflicts, a large number of female refugees have emerged, who suffer from sexual violence and gender-related problems. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia identified the rape of women of different ethnic groups or religions as a means of war and punished them accordingly.

Until recently, no one has studied the interweaving and influence of gender discrimination and racial discrimination in detail. People think that these problems are either manifestations of this kind of discrimination or that kind of discrimination, and they are not considered together. Therefore, it is impossible to comprehensively analyze the problem, resulting in ineffective or insufficient remedial measures. Now all this is changing. For example, through its "gender mainstreaming" policy, the United Nations recognizes that gender roles and gender relations affect women's and men's access to rights, resources and opportunities in different ways. The ultimate goal is to achieve equality.

Many of these issues will be directly discussed at the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance to be held in Durban, South Africa from 36 August to 7 September 2006. Mary Robinson, Secretary-General of the Conference and High Commissioner for Human Rights, said at the European Regional Conference of Durban Conference held in Husstrasbourg from 54 to 38 June last year, "It is disturbing that modern racism appears in different modes. We need to pay special attention to gender issues and racism and recognize the possible double discrimination. "

At the Asia-Pacific expert seminar recently held in preparation for the World Conference, participants paid special attention to two kinds of effects of compound discrimination: irregular migration and trafficking in women. The seminar pointed out that "racial, ethnic and gender discrimination is the root cause of immigration and human trafficking". It is suggested that during the World Conference, "special attention should be paid to gender issues and gender discrimination, especially the multiple dangers arising when gender, class, race and nationality are intertwined".

In new york in February, the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that she thought the Durban Conference might become a "Magna Carta for victims". I hope that the victims of racism and compound discrimination can feel human rights positively and discuss what they have done in Cheng Kewei. She also said that women who suffer from double discrimination expect the meeting to put forward concrete and realistic suggestions to deal with their problems, which is the minimum acceptable requirement.