Día Internacional para la Tolerancia, 16 de noviembre.
We live in an era of rising and violent extremism, radicalism and widening conflicts that are characterized by a fundamental disregard for human life. There are more people displaced by fighting today than at any period since the end of the Second World War. Innocent lives are being lost in senseless clashes around the world. The youngest victims are robbed of their childhoods, conscripted and abused, or even kidnapped simply for wanting an education.
Democratic and peaceful societies are not immune from prejudice and violence. There is growing hostility and discrimination towards people crossing borders in search of asylum or opportunities denied to them at home. Hate crimes and other forms of intolerance mar too many communities, often stoked by irresponsible leaders seeking political gain.
I have strongly urged world leaders to protect people from persecution and to encourage tolerance for all regardless of nationality, religion, language, race, sexuality or any other distinction that obscures our common humanity.
The International Day of Tolerance is an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to work for the recognition and protection of universal human rights and fundamental freedoms that is so essential to lasting peace.
The United Nations is committed to strengthening tolerance by fostering mutual understanding among cultures and peoples. This imperative lies at the core of the United Nations Charter as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Promoting tolerance is also a key objective of the International Decade for the Rapprochement of Cultures being observed through 2022. And the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations is paving the path to greater cross-cultural understanding.
On this International Day of Tolerance, I call on all people and governments to actively combat fear, hatred and extremism with dialogue, understanding and mutual respect. Let us advance against the forces of division and unite for our shared future.
Ban Ki-moon
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| Winners of our 2014 prize for tolerance & non-violence inspire us all in the quest for peace |
Tolerance is a fundamental principle of life in society, stemming naturally from respect for human rights and human dignity. It is a principle that is more relevant now than ever and it is under serious threat. Cultural diversity is being targeted by extremist groups seeking to impose their sectarian vision on the world, and minorities are being persecuted, falling victim to attempts at “cultural cleansing”. Within societies, economic and social crises are sometimes used as a pretext for
blaming and rejecting others. In tackling these challenges, we must reaffirm with determination the need for tolerance by recalling that every culture is worthy of respect and that no belief deserves the hatred or scorn of others.
This message is central to all of UNESCO’s action, guided by the conviction that lasting peace must be constructed in the minds of men and women, by nurturing the principles of tolerance and mutual respect through education, the dialogue among cultures and intellectual cooperation. In a globalizing world, it is no longer enough to live side by side, in passive indifference – tolerance requires active vigilance, renewed each day, against xenophobia, discrimination and hatred. We
learn through tolerance to reconcile the universal rights that bind us together with the diversity that gives us so much, and to see that we need others, in all their diversity, so that we can be fully ourselves.
More than words, tolerance is behaviour that is also learnt in the classroom. It takes the form of openness to the diversity of cultures and beliefs and respect for freedom of expression and opinion, rooted in attachment to human rights. This is the spirit of the International Decade for the Rapprochement of Cultures (2013-2022), for which UNESCO is lead agency in the United Nations system. It is also the objective of the UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence, awarded this year to two human rights activists – Mr Ibrahim Ag Idbaltanat (Mali) and M. Francisco Javier Estévez Valencia (Chile).
UNESCO is committed to promoting tolerance through its educational and cultural programmes, through the International Coalition of Cities against Racism and through the mobilization of young people and global citizenship education. On the occasion of this international day, I call on all of UNESCO’s Member States and partners to reassert the transformational power of tolerance as a force for dialogue and peace.
Irina Bokova
UNESCO is committed to promoting tolerance through its educational and cultural programmes, through the International Coalition of Cities against Racism and through the mobilization of young people and global citizenship education.
On the occasion of this international day, I call on all of UNESCO’s
Member States and partners to reassert the transformational power of
tolerance as a force for dialogue and peace.
Tolerance is a fundamental principle of life in society, stemming naturally from respect for human rights and human dignity.
Resources :
UNESCO
- Declaration of Principles onTolerance, UNESCO
- Interviews and messages for the International Day for Tolerance 2014
- Integrated Strategy to Combat Racism, Discrimination, Xenophobia and Intolerance
- Intercultural Dialogue
- Interreligious Dialogue
- Routes of Dialogue
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Practical measures to promote a culture of tolerance
- Tolerance and reconciliation are key to a just and equitable society
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
- Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
