International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination


Elimination of Racial Discrimination, International Day for the

March 21International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on March 21, the anniversary of the day in 1960 when, at a peaceful demonstration against the apartheid "pass laws" in Sharpeville, South Africa, police opened fire and killed 69 black South Africans. The observation of this day was initiated by the United Nations General Assembly in 1966, when it called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination and to remember "the victims of Sharpeville and those countless others in different parts of the world who have fallen victim to racial injustice."
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