U.S. BOYCOTTS RACISM CONFERENCE ‘WITH REGRET’

U.S. BOYCOTTS RACISM CONFERENCE ‘WITH REGRET’   By Bridget Johnson

Posted: 04/18/09 08:51 PM [ET]

The State Department announced late Saturday that “with regret” the U.S. would not be attending the controversial United Nations racism conference beginning Monday in Geneva.The first such conference, which was held in Durban, South Africa, days before the 9-11 terrorist attacks, was assailed by critics who called the meetings anti-Semitic and anti-Israel. Next week’s conference is billed as “Durban II,” a follow-up to the 2001 United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. American and Israeli delegates walked out of the original conference, with then-Secretary of State Colin Powell saying, “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 support the idea that we have made too much of the Holocaust, or suggest that apartheid exists in Israel, or that single out only one country in the world — Israel — for censure and abuse.” The Obama administration had indicated late Friday that no final decision had been made regarding whether the U.S. would reconsider a boycott of Durban II and send a delegation. On Saturday, State Department spokesman Robert Wood issued a statement noting that even though the U.S. “applaud[s] the progress that has been made” in crafting a more acceptable conference document, it would not be enough for the U.S. to attend. “The text still contains language that reaffirms in toto the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) from 2001, which the United States has long said it is unable to support,” Wood said. “…The DDPA singles out one particular conflict and prejudges key issues that can only be resolved in negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians. The United States also has serious concerns with relatively new additions to the text regarding ‘incitement,’ that run counter to the U.S. commitment to unfettered free speech. “Unfortunately, it now seems certain these remaining concerns will not be addressed in the document to be adopted by the conference next week. Therefore, with regret, the United States will not join the review conference.” The latest draft brands “foreign occupation” as racism, and “calls upon States, in opposing all forms of racism, to recognize the need to counter anti-Semitism, anti-Arabism and Islamophobia world-wide, and urges all States to take effective measures to prevent the emergence of movements based on racism and discriminatory ideas concerning these communities.” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has questioned the Holocaust and spoken of the elimination of Israel, will address the conference and hold a press conference Monday, when Holocaust Remembrance Day begins at sunset for observant Jews. The conference will still bring alternative meetings by pro-Israel groups and U.N. critics in Geneva, plus protest outside of the U.N. on Monday at a noontime rally to be attended by Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.). Garrett had introduced April 2 legislation to prohibit any U.S. funding for the Durban II conference or any other future follow-up to the original 2001 conference. The bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), sits in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Aside from the Durban II boycott, the U.S. has taken steps to join a controversial U.N. institution that last month passed a resolution against defamation of religion that critics contend would curtail free speech. The resolution from the Human Rights Council, which has also been accused of being anti-Israel and includes member states such as Cuba that have come under fire for human rights violations, places heavy emphasis on the defamation of Islam. Critics contend that the document sanctions punishment of free speech for incidents such as the Danish cartoons portraying Mohammad that sparked violent protests in 2006. New Zealand withdrew its candidacy for the council to leave the United States as one of three nations vying for three open seats reserved for Western nations. There’s no guarantee that another Western country couldn’t throw its hat into the ring before the HRC’s May 15 elections. In another twist, former New Zealand Prime Minster Helen Clark then won the chairmanship of the U.N. Development Program, a powerful post that was expected to return to the U.S. after four years with Turkey at the helm. The U.S. won’t be alone in boycotting the conference. Canada has said it is “interested in combating racism, not promoting it,” and Italy withdrew from draft negotiations decrying “aggressive and anti-Semitic statements” in the conference document.

 

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