piece of social legislation since the Human Rights Act. Last week in the House of Assembly Human Affairs Minister the Hon. Jerome Dill tabled the White Paper which is part of an initiative to eliminate racism. We are running the White Paper in text this morning on Page 4 because we think all the public should have an opportunity to read exactly what is being done.

Mr. Dill's Human Affairs Ministry was created in the wake of the last election as a result of Premier Sir John Swan's pledge to confront racism in Bermuda.

This major legislation is one of the results.

The basic thrust of the White Paper is that racist acts will be made criminal offences. Government will create a Commission for Unity and Racial Equality (CURE) to work with employers, unions and other institutions to promote better race relations. CURE will issue codes of practice to eliminate both race and gender discrimination in the workplace. The Human Rights Commission will also be given new powers to combat racism.

When the Human Affairs Ministry was established there was considerable criticism and speculation that there would be some noise but not much would actually happen. We think that this White Paper is only the beginning and that Jerome Dill is dedicated to making things happen.

If the Government were not serious about eliminating racism, it would hardly be suggesting making racist acts criminal or giving powers to the Human Rights Commission which will make it "quite fierce''.

This White Paper appears to us to be a kind of new beginning or at least a fresh initiative to tackle an old problem. However it is not a magic solution.

Like most things in this world, solutions will take effort and they will take time. However we recognise that there are people whose patience has been sorely tried.

It is gratifying to note that the initial reaction of the Opposition Progressive Labour Party and the National Association for Reconciliation has been positive, if expressed with reservations. The White Paper has been welcomed by Dr. Eva Hodgson, the NAR spokeswoman, as a step forward.

Ms Renee Webb, the PLP Shadow Minister of Human Affairs, has said, "My initial comments are positive. The rest remains to be seen.'' The reaction from the PLP and the NAR is itself constructive and helpful. Far too often both groups simply oppose anything done by the Government, no matter how worthy.