We will do everything possible to eliminate discrimination – Social Cohesion Minister

DPI, GUYANA, Thursday, March 1, 2018

Observed on March 1^st, ‘Zero Discrimination Day’ is an annual worldwide event that promotes diversity and recognises that everyone counts. This is observed since many countries have laws against discrimination but it is still a problem in all societal layers, internationally.

In observance of the day, Minister of Social Cohesion Dr. George Norton highlighted the intolerable nature of discrimination along with the ministry’s determination to ending it.

“What isms and schisms do, is that they ascribe negative characteristics to a group and they assume those characteristics apply to all members. That is discrimination. This should not be allowed to exist in our country, and from the Ministry of Social Cohesion’s point of view, we will do everything possible to either eliminate it completely or reduce it to a minimum”, Dr. Norton posited.

With many countries still using discrimination as a way of governing, organisations like the United Nations (UN) actively promote the day to celebrate everyone’s right to live a full life with dignity regardless of age, gender, sexuality, nationality, ethnicity, skin color, height, weight, profession, education, and beliefs. The symbol for ‘Zero Discrimination Day’ is the butterfly. This is widely used by people to share their stories and photos as a way to end discrimination and work towards positive transformation.

The UN first celebrated ‘Zero Discrimination Day’ on March 1, 2014, after UNAIDS launched its Zero Discrimination Campaign on World AIDS Day in December 2013.

 

By: Stephon Gabriel