The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on 21 March. On that day, in 1960, police openedfire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid pass laws. Proclaiming the day in 1966, the United Nations General Assembly called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.
Observed for the first time on March 21, 2013, was established by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on November 28, 2012.To be held each year on the 21st day of March, the occasion is intended to be one of the world's leading global platforms for people with an interest in forests and climate change to share their views and work together to ensure forests are suitably incorporated into any future climate change mitigation and adaption strategies.
Since 1990 independence from South Africa.