|
From the Near East Report, March 10, 2009-
Editorial: The Right Move
The Obama administration did the right thing by saying it would not attend the upcoming
Durban II conference.
What was all the fuss about? First, some background. The 2001 “World Conference against
Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance,” held in Durban, South
Africa, did not live up to its name. “International Hate Fest” would have been a more accurate
description of what happened there. Renowned human rights violators Libya and Cuba chaired
the conference, so credibility was an issue from the start.
An NGO forum in Durban branded Israel as “a racist apartheid state.” Mary Robinson, then-
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and Secretary-General of the Durban I conference,
described the atmosphere at the forum as “hateful, even racist” and refused to accept the
resulting NGO declaration.
The U.S. delegation, led by Secretary of State Colin Powell, pulled out of the event. “I know
that you do not combat racism by conferences that produce declarations containing hateful
language, some of which is a throwback to the days of ‘Zionism equals racism’; or supports the
idea that we have made too much of the Holocaust; or suggests that apartheid exists in Israel;
or that singles out only one country in the world—Israel—for censure and abuse,” Powell said.
Outside the Durban conference, protestors held up signs with anti-Semitic slogans including,
“Hitler Should Have Finished the Job.” Rep. Tom Lantos called the Durban I gathering “the
most sickening and unabashed display of hate for Jews I had seen since the Nazi period.”
While the final Durban Declaration included recognition of Israel’s right to live in security and
expressed concern about international anti-Semitism, the atmosphere of the conference
undermined efforts to build a global consensus to combat racism.
Fast forward to 2006. The U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution calling for a Durban
Review Conference that would work to implement the recommendations of Durban I. Cuba,
Libya and Iran chaired the new planning committee. It was déjà vu all over again. The usual
suspects were back for another round.
Rather than boycott the Durban II conference outright, the Obama administration decided that
it would see what it could do to change the direction of the event, set to take place this April.
In February, the State Department dispatched two envoys, Felice D. Gaer, a human rights
advocate with the American Jewish Committee, and Betty King, a former U.S. diplomat, to
Geneva to participate in the agenda negotiations.
As the Durban II preparations progressed, it became clear to all involved that the conference is
set to be even worse than Durban I. New language included in the draft declarations featured
the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rhetoric that was removed from the final Durban I declaration
in 2001. The most recent draft, from February 26, described Israeli policy as “a crime against
humanity [and] a contemporary form of apartheid.”
It must be emphasized that the problems with Durban II go far beyond criticism of Israel. For
example, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)—a group of 56 Muslim countries—
is attempting to use Durban II to make criticism of Islam anywhere in the world a crime. The
OIC draft statement calls on U.N. member states to legislate “limitations on the exercise of the
right to freedom of expression”—a provision that clashes with the fundamental values of a free
society.
And so, after more than 30 meetings at the Durban II planning conference, the State
Department announced on February 27 that the United States will not participate in the main
event. Having witnessed some of the world’s worst human rights violators trying to coerce
Western democracies, the Obama administration recognized that no further U.S. engagement
can change the course of Durban II.
Now that the Obama administration has witnessed the moral vacuity of U.N. conferences
firsthand, the State Department should encourage other Western democracies to pull out
as well. Italy, Canada and Israel have already decided to boycott the conference. In recent
days, Britain and Denmark have also threatened to withdraw if the direction of the conference
agenda does not change.
Any country that attends the Durban II conference in its current form is legitimizing the efforts
of the world’s most oppressive regimes to target free societies for censure. Now is the time for
defenders of human liberty to take a stand.
|
