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On April 19, The [[Netherlands]] joined the boycott. "The conference against racism is too important to allow it to be abused for political purposes and attacks against the West," Dutch Foreign Minister [[Maxime Verhagen]] said in a statement. Verhagen said the draft for the conference represents a "wasted opportunity" to address human rights violations by countries and organizations involved in discrimination on sexual, religious and racial biases. "The conference places Israel as the only defendant," he stated.<ref>Cnaan Liphshiz, [http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1079354.html Netherlands joins U.S., Australia in boycott of Durban II], Haaretz 19-04-2009</ref>
On April 19, The [[Netherlands]] joined the boycott. "The conference against racism is too important to allow it to be abused for political purposes and attacks against the West," Dutch Foreign Minister [[Maxime Verhagen]] said in a statement. Verhagen said the draft for the conference represents a "wasted opportunity" to address human rights violations by countries and organizations involved in discrimination on sexual, religious and racial biases. "The conference places Israel as the only defendant," he stated.<ref>Cnaan Liphshiz, [http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1079354.html Netherlands joins U.S., Australia in boycott of Durban II], Haaretz 19-04-2009</ref>


On April 19, [[Great Britain]] announced that it will attend the conference. The delegation will be led by Peter Gooderham who is the British ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/5182662/Britain-isolated-amid-UN-racism-summit-boycott.html Britain isolated amid UN racism summit boycott] by Bruno Waterfield, The Telegraph, April 19, 2009.</ref> However, Britain's Foreign Minister also stated that Britain will "walk out" of the conference if "red lines" on language such relating to anti-Semitism, the Holocaust and Blasphemy are crossed.<ref>[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1239710729556&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Obama: US boycotting due to 'hypocritical' attacks on Israel] by Allison Hoffman and Hilary Leila Krieger, Jerusalem Post, April 19, 2009.</ref>
On April 19, [[Great Britain]] announced that it will attend the conference. The delegation will be led by Peter Gooderham who is the British ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/5182662/Britain-isolated-amid-UN-racism-summit-boycott.html Britain isolated amid UN racism summit boycott] by Bruno Waterfield, The Telegraph, April 19, 2009.</ref> However, Britain's Foreign Minister also stated that Britain will "walk out" of the conference if "red lines" on language such relating to anti-Semitism, the Holocaust and Blasphemy are crossed.<ref>[http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1239710729556&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Obama: US boycotting due to 'hypocritical' attacks on Israel] by Allison Hoffman and Hilary Leila Krieger, Jerusalem Post, April 19, 2009.</ref>

On April 19, [[New Zealand]] Minister of Foreign Affairs [[Murray McCully]] stated that there is a “distinct possibility” his government will boycott the conference.<ref>[http://jta.org/news/article/2009/04/19/1004458/australia-will-boycott-durban-ii Australia, Germany, Holland boycotting Durban II], Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), April 19, 2009.</ref>


==Support and responses to boycotts==
==Support and responses to boycotts==

Revision as of 20:04, 19 April 2009

The Durban Review Conference is the official name of the 2009 UN World Conference Against Racism (WCAR), also known as Durban II. The conference is scheduled for the 20th to 24th of April 2009 at the UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.[1]

The conference is called under the mandate of UN General Assembly resolution 61/149 (passed in 1996) with a mandate to review the implementation of the The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action from the 2001 World Conference Against Racism which took place in Durban, South Africa.

As of 19 April 2009, the governments of Canada, Israel, the United States, Italy, Australia, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany have announced that they will boycott the conference, citing what they describe to be severe flaws in the preparatory process; in particular, concerns that the conference will be used to promote anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism, and laws against blasphemy.[2][3] Other nations have also stated that they may not attend.[4] Western countries are bothered by draft declaration passages that single out Israel for criticism and what they see as offensive references made to it, passages relating to so-called defamation of religion, and the lack of a passage about discrimination against homosexuals.[5] European countries also have criticized the meeting for focusing heavily on the West and ignoring problems of racism and intolerance in the developing world.

Objectives

The Review Conference has the following objectives:[1]

  1. To review progress and implementation by all stakeholders of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. Through an inclusive, transparent and collaborative process the Review Conference will assess contemporary manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, while identifying concrete counter measures to eliminate these manifestations of intolerance.
  2. To assess the existing Durban follow-up mechanisms and their effectiveness, as well as other relevant United Nations mechanisms dealing with the issue of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
  3. To promote the universal ratification and implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and proper consideration of the recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination;
  4. To identify and share good practices in the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

Committee

The Durban Review Conference is run by the Bureau of the Preparatory Committee, which is chaired by Ms. Najat Al-Hajjaji (Libya) and has vice-chairs from Cameroon, South Africa, Senegal, India, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Armenia, Croatia, Estonia, Russia, Belgium, Greece, Norway and Turkey. The bureau has a rapporteur, Mr. Resfel Pino Álvarez from Cuba.[6]

Conference themes

The list of themes for the conference include:[7]

Government boycotts

File:Durbanreviewboycott.PNG
States (in dark blue) that intend to boycott the Durban Review Conference. States (in light blue) that are considering a boycott. States (in teal) that are members of the European Union, which has threatened a boycott.

On 23 January 2008, Canada stated it would not participate in the Durban Review Conference. A joint statement by Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Bernier and the Minister of Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity Jason Kenney said the 2001 conference "degenerated into open and divisive expressions of intolerance and anti-Semitism that undermined the principles of the United Nations and the very goals the conference sought to achieve.” Canada said it "had hoped that the preparatory process for the 2009 Durban Review Conference would remedy the mistakes of the past" but Canada had concluded the process was too flawed to make the conference worthwhile.[8]

In early November 2008, Per Stig Meller, Denmark's Foreign Minister, announced that Denmark will not attend the conference if a proposal to equate criticism of religion with racism is included on the agenda.[9] There have been no further announcements since this statement.

On 19 November 2008, Israel announced it would boycott the Durban Review Conference. Israel's Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, stated, "The documents prepared for the conference indicate that it is turning once again into an anti-Israeli tribunal, singling out and delegitimizing the State of Israel." She said, "The conference has nothing to do with fighting racism. In view of this situation, I decided that Israel will not participate and will not legitimize the Durban II conference."[10] On 19 April 2009, Avigdor Lieberman, Livni's successor as Foreign Minister, called the conference "a hypocrisy summit,"[11] saying the fact that Iranian President and Holocaust denier[3][12] Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been invited to speak at the conference proved its true character. "An international convention that invites a racist such as Ahmadinejad, - who preaches the extermination of the State of Israel day and night - and which allows him to make a central speech, demonstrates both its goal and its character," Lieberman said, adding that Israel could not ignore that a Holocaust-denier had been invited to take part in a convention taking place on the very same day that the Jewish people commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day to remember the six million Jews murdered in Europe by Nazi Germany and its accomplices.[12]

On 27 February 2009, the United States announced it would boycott the conference.[13] The American delegation in attendance at the conference's preparatory talks concluded that "the anti-Israel and anti-Western tendencies were too deeply entrenched to excise."[14][15] The US State Department said the planned outcome document being drafted for the meeting had "gone from bad to worse, and the current text... is not salvageable... A conference based on this text would be a missed opportunity to speak clearly about the persistent problem of racism."[16] However, in an interview on 4 April, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice expressed her feeling that the content of the latest draft had improved and that a decision on the United States' involvement in the conference had not been made.[17] Deliberation inside the Obama administration ended on April 18: "With regret, the United States will not join the review conference," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood. Wood said the conference document reaffirmed a declaration that emerged from the original Durban conference which the United States had opposed, and that the United States was concerned over new additions to the text regarding "incitement," that run counter to the U.S. commitment to unfettered free speech.[18] The following day, President Barack Obama said "I would love to be involved in a useful conference that addressed continuing issues of racism and discrimination around the globe," but stressed that the language of the U.N.'s draft declaration "raised a whole set of objectionable provisions" and risked a reprise Durban, "which became a session through which folks expressed antagonism toward Israel in ways that were often times completely hypocritical and counterproductive."[3]

On 5 March 2009, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini announced at a NATO summit that his country was pulling out of the conference because of "aggressive and anti-Semitic statements in the draft of the event's final document." Ministry Spokesman Maurizio Massari confirmed Frattini's statements, and charged that the final draft document of the Durban Review Conference contained "expressions of anti-Semitism." Massari said Rome would not participate in the conference unless the document was changed.[4]

On 12 March 2009, Australia's Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, said in the federal parliament that Australia would join Israel, Canada, the United States and Italy in withdrawing from the United Nations-sponsored conference if the draft documents were not revised. “If we form the view that the text is going to lead to nothing more than an anti-Jewish, anti-Semitic harangue and an anti-Jewish propaganda exercise, Australia will not be in attendance,” Smith said.[19] On 19 April, Smith announced that Australia would be boycotting the conference.[20] "Regrettably, we cannot be confident that the Review Conference will not again be used as a platform to air offensive views, including anti-Semitic views," Smith said on 19 April.[21]

It was reported on March 14 that the German federal government was considering a boycott of the conference.[22][23] The German federal government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid, Günter Nooke, said "In the first instance we should try everything to improve the text of the final document," but also that "Germany should not lend itself to a conference that tries to one-sidedly incriminate Israel."[24] On April 16 Nooke stated at this point it was very unlikely that Germany would attend the Durban conference. [25] On 19 April, U.N. spokesman Rupert Colville said Germany informed the global body that it would boycott the conference.[3]

On 16 March 2009, the European Union stated it would boycott the conference unless major changes were made to its declaration.[26] Britain said it would not attend unless the draft showed a "change in direction."

On 17 March 2009, Yuri Boychenko, chairman of the group responsible for drafting the conference's declaration, issued a draft that omitted any reference to the Palestinian territories or to defamation of religion.[27]

On April 18, Swedish Integration Minister Nyamko Sabuni announced that her government would boycott the conference, sending no ministerial officials to the event, due to worry that it would be a repeat of the last conference on racism. She said that a ministerial presence would "legitimize undemocratic forces," adding that the country might send a lower level delegation.[28][29]

On April 19, The Netherlands joined the boycott. "The conference against racism is too important to allow it to be abused for political purposes and attacks against the West," Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said in a statement. Verhagen said the draft for the conference represents a "wasted opportunity" to address human rights violations by countries and organizations involved in discrimination on sexual, religious and racial biases. "The conference places Israel as the only defendant," he stated.[30]

On April 19, Great Britain announced that it will attend the conference. The delegation will be led by Peter Gooderham who is the British ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.[31] However, Britain's Foreign Minister also stated that Britain will "walk out" of the conference if "red lines" on language such relating to anti-Semitism, the Holocaust and Blasphemy are crossed.[32]

On April 19, New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully stated that there is a “distinct possibility” his government will boycott the conference.[33]

Support and responses to boycotts

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said all disputed points such as references to Israel, Zionism and the Middle East had been deleted from the declaration. She added that she was confident that all parties would approve the reworked statement and decide to attend the upcoming meeting in Geneva. [34]

Pope Benedict XVI on April 19 2009 hailed the U.N. anti-racism conference and urged countries to join forces to eliminate intolerance, but he made no reference to the U.S. boycott of the meeting. He said he sincerely hoped that delegates who attend the conference work together, "with a spirit of dialogue and reciprocal acceptance, to put an end to every form of racism, discrimination and intolerance." He added that it would be "a fundamental step toward the affirmation of the universal value of the dignity of man and his rights." [35]

Also on 19 April, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad commented on the controversy surrounding the summit in a televised speech, implying that it was due to a Zionist plot. "It is clear that the Zionists and their backers will undertake everything possible so that the voices of those people suppressed will be silenced... [the] Zionists control an important part of the politics in the U.S. and Europe and used this influence, especially in the media, to force their demands, which are nothing more than the plundering of nations, onto the world," he said.[12]

NGOs participation[citation needed]

Some NGOs accredited for Conference: 1. Independent Jewish Voices 2. La Asociación AKUAIPA WAIMAKAT 3. Caribbean Policy Development Centre 4. Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union (UCSJ) 5. Humanitarian Organization for Poverty Eradication (HOPE) 6. Universal Empowerment Mission 7. Ebukhosini Solutions 8. Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation 9. Association for Child Health 10. La route des abolitions de l’esclavage et des droits de l’homme 11. The East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project 12. The Equal Rights Trust 13. Lawyers for Constitutional Rights and Freedoms (JURIX) 14. Coalition for Justice and Accountability 15. Zivilcourage und AntiRassismusArbeit 16. The Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) 17. NGO Monitor 18. TransAfrica Forum 19. Organización para el desarrollo de las mujeres inmigrantes Haitianas y sus familiares 20. Le Secrétariat International permanente Droits de l’Homme et gouvernements locaux 21. Conseil représentatif des institutions juives de France 22. Pakistan Community Peace Foundation 23. Federación de asociaciones: Consejo afrodescendiente de iboamerica en España (FEDAFRO) 24. Center for Information and Analysis 25. Comité civico pro desarrollo de Puerto Estrella 26. Association gessienne contre le racisme et le fascisme 27. Quebec Native Women Inc. 28. Civil Power Africa 29. Turkish Community in the Nuremberg Metropolitan 30. Church of the Brethren 31. Northern Alberta Alliance on Race Relations 32. Observatory on Racial Discrimination 33. Centre de formation études et recherches pour le développement 34. National Network of Indigenous Women 35. Consortium for Empowerment and Development of Marginalised Communities 36. COEXIST 37. Human Care Organization 38. Free World Foundation 39. Center for Economic and Social Development 40. Board of Deputies of British Jews 41. Equal Rights Trust 42. Veterans 43. Blue Diamond Society 44. Colonie des Pionniers de Developpement 45. NGO Federation of Nepalese Indigenous Nationalities 46. Confederation des Syndicats Nationaux 47. Fundación Solon 48. Asociación Cultural Siria 49. National Antiracism Council of Canada 50. Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law 51. Indiana University School of Law 52. African Hebrew Development Agency 53. Jewish Leadership Council 54. Quilombos de Pernambuco 55. Universitarios y Tenicos AfroUruguayos 56. Movimento Nação Mestiça 57. Global Afrikan Congress 58. Migrant Forum in Asia 59. Observatorio Negro 60. Union des Etudiants Juifs de France 61. Organisasjonen Mot Offentlig Diskriminering 62. Neda Institute for Scientific Political Research 63. Carrefour de reflexion et d’action contre le Racisme antiNoir CRAN) 64. Palestinian Return Centre 65. Committed Communities Development Trust 66. Centrum Mot Rasism 67. Jagran Media Centre 68. Ligue Ogaden Pour La Jeunesse 69. Fundacion Vida Grupo Ecologico Verde 70. Organisation Des Hommes Demunis Et Enfants Orphelin Pour Le Developpement 71. UNESCO Center For Peace 72. National Native Title Council 73. Association SOS Racisme touche pas à mon pote 74. The Malcom X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial, Educational and Cultural Center 75. Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute 76. The Lost Talent Foundation 77. Migrant Care 78. Refugee and Migrant Project: Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference 79. The Foundation on Research and Support of Indigenous Peoples of Crimea 80. Southern Coalition for Social Justice 81. Moscow Bureau for Human Rights

Related links

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Durban Review Conference 2009, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
  2. ^ Boycotts hit U.N. racism conference, CNN.com, April 19, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d Bradley S. Klapper, US boycotting, Iran starring, at UN racism meeting, Associated Press 19-04-2009
  4. ^ a b Ravid, Barak. "Italy pulls out of Durban II over 'anti-Semitic' draft statement" Haaretz, 5 March 2009.
  5. ^ Mar 17, 2009 (2009-03-17). "AFP: Text on Israel cut from UN racism draft". Google.com. Retrieved 2009-04-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Durban Review Conference 2009 - Bureau of the Preparatory Committee.
  7. ^ Durban Review Issues, Icare.
  8. ^ Canada's position on Durban Review.. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  9. ^ Denmark threatens boycott of Durban II by Paul Lungen, Canadian Jewish News, November 5, 2008 (reprinted by EuropeNews) (retrieved on April 19, 2009).
  10. ^ Ravid, Barak. "Israel to boycott 'Durban II' anti-racism conference" Haaretz, 21 November 2008.
  11. ^ Lieberman: Durban II conference is 'a hypocrisy summit', Jerusalem Post 19-04-2009
  12. ^ a b c Cnaan Liphshiz and news agencies, Lieberman: Ahmadinejad invite to Durban II shows true character of summit, Haaretz 19-04-2009
  13. ^ "The US to boycott Durban II summit" Haaretz, 27 February 2009.
  14. ^ Kampeas, Ron. "U.S. pulling out of ‘Durban II’ conference". Retrieved 2009-02-27.
  15. ^ Kay, Jonathan. "Jonathan Kay on the U.S. backing out of Durban II: So much for the idea that Obama is soft on the Israeli file" National Post, 27 February 2009.
  16. ^ US Department of State, Press Release: February 2009 - U.S. Posture Toward the Durban Review Conference and Participation in the UN Human Rights Council, February 27, 2009.
  17. ^ Smith, Ben (4 April 2009). "Obama-era goodwill for Rice at U.N." The Politico. Retrieved 4 April 2009.
  18. ^ U.S. will boycott U.N. conference on racism, 18-04-2009
  19. ^ http://jta.org/news/article/2009/03/17/1003772/australia-ready-to-boycott-durban-ii Retrieved 2009-03-27.
  20. ^ "Australia to boycott UN anti-racism conference" News.com.au, 19 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
  21. ^ Australia to boycott racism conference, UPI 19-04-2009
  22. ^ "Federal Government considers UN Boycott", 14 March 2009 (in German).
  23. ^ "UN-Conference against Racism / Boycott by Federal Government?", 15 March 2009 (in German).
  24. ^ "UN Racism Conference under Pressure", 14 March 2009 (in German).
  25. ^ The Earthtimes. "Germany expected to boycott UN anti-racism meeting : Europe World". Earthtimes.org. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
  26. ^ "EU threatens to boycott Durban II if used as anti-Israel forum" Haaretz, 16 March 2009.
  27. ^ Nebehay, Stephanie. "Diplomats amend U.N. racism text to draw in West" NewsDaily, 17 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
  28. ^ "Sverige boykotter racismekonference", politiken.dk, 18. april 2009
  29. ^ Sweden to boycott UN racism conference, The Local 18-04-2009
  30. ^ Cnaan Liphshiz, Netherlands joins U.S., Australia in boycott of Durban II, Haaretz 19-04-2009
  31. ^ Britain isolated amid UN racism summit boycott by Bruno Waterfield, The Telegraph, April 19, 2009.
  32. ^ Obama: US boycotting due to 'hypocritical' attacks on Israel by Allison Hoffman and Hilary Leila Krieger, Jerusalem Post, April 19, 2009.
  33. ^ Australia, Germany, Holland boycotting Durban II, Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), April 19, 2009.
  34. ^ EU still undecided on whether to attend UN anti-racism talks
  35. ^ Pope: Upcoming UN racism conference 'important'
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