The war that US President George W Bush is waging against Iraq is the most senseless and illegitimate war in recent history.

This is not o­nly because none of the arguments presented as justification are valid, but also because it is a violation of the law and of the consensus of the majority of the peoples and governments of the world.

The offensive now destroying Iraq places the US, its top government officials and their allies in the dock for violation of international law.

Racism reinforced

The UN should defend not o­nly its code of law, tainted by the capriciousness and arrogance of the US; it must also take concrete steps to translate the universal condemnation into an exemplary moral and political sanction. It cannot go back to playing the tiresome role of world's fireman forced upon it by the dead-end errors of Bush.

One of the major fears of these days is that this assault o­n an Arab country will reinforce racism and prejudice. The campaign can bring nothing good to the world, particularly regarding the fight against existing forms of discrimination. Rather it will derail the fledgling attempts at dialogue between different civilisations that have been initiated up to now.

For two decades the international system has worked to bring about the eradication of racism and all other forms of discrimination, recognised as an unacceptable denial or limitation of the rights of peoples, a demeaning legacy from a miserable colonial past. We have made progress, but we have seen regression as well.

The Other has been demonised - those who are foreign or different. Since Sept 11, 2001, the international dynamic has changed for the worse.

In the US, Arab immigrants and people of Arab background are labelled 'undesirable'. All Arabs who enter the US must register with immigration authorities, as if the mere fact of being an Arab makes o­ne a potential terrorist, criminal, or follower of Osama bin Laden.

In France we saw the murder of a 17-year-old African immigrant boy by the police. His crime: having a dark complexion. The proof: he came from Africa. His sentence: to join the other condemned of the world.

We are also seeing other equally appalling phenomena, such as the tightening of immigration law in Europe. There we find growing xenophobia, particularly against minorities and immigrants of particular cultural and religious origins.

In the US, Hispanic and indigenous people are increasingly turned away at the border. These grim trends work directly against efforts to build a society built o­n a universal, diverse, and responsible citizenry.

New models

The fight against all forms of discrimination requires new social, economic, and educational models. This may be the area where the greatest possible investment is needed. We need, for example, an educational model that respects cultural and linguistic diversity and fights discrimination.

An educational programme of this nature must also include the affirmation of equal rights of all people, anti-racist practices and attitudes, respect for the socio-cultural diversity and of the identities and rights of other peoples, ethnic groups, and forms of cultural expression.

This is the reason that official recognition of the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-lingual nature of every country is so crucial.

The permanent battle against racism and discrimination must be a part of the day-to-day existence of all people. The participation of all sectors of society is necessary to avoid any confrontation, racism, or discrimination. Now more than ever, marginalisation, inequality, and inequity must be stopped.

With the world dominated by the hegemonic muscle-flexing of a government that has proclaimed itself the sole Global Power, it is necessary that people unify and mobilise to oppose the New Imperial Disorder with a new order of harmony, understanding, and inter-cultural respect.

And we must hope that the world's democratic governments restore the validity and authority of the multilateral institutions, which have been gravely damaged by te unilateral declaration of war by the Bush administration. - IPS

Rigoberta Menchu, 1992 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, is te Unesco Goodwill Ambassador.