| THINK-ISRAEL |
| HOME | November-December 2007 Featured Stories | Background Information | News On The Web |
In September of 2001, the UN World Conference against Racism, held in Durban, South Africa deteriorated into an anti-semitic, anti-Israel, pro-terrorism frenzy.[1] On November 22, 2006 the Third Committee of the General Assembly adopted an annual resolution[2] on the follow-up to the Durban conference that called for the reoccurrence of the Durban nightmare in 2009, deciding
to convene in 2009 a review conference on the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action to be conducted within the framework of the General Assembly, making use of the three existing and ongoing follow-up mechanisms, and to this end requests the Human Rights Council to undertake preparations for this event and formulate a concrete plan by 2007 for the review conference; and to provide updates and reports on this issue on an annual basis to both the Secretary-General and the General Assembly
The European Union (EU) voted in favor of this resolution (only the United States and Israel voted against) with the understanding[3] that (1) the 2009 conference would focus on the implementation of what was decided in Durban without reopening the "program of action" for further negotiation and (2) the Human Rights Council would not create a new mechanism to prepare for the conference -- rather it would use an existing Durban follow-up mechanism (there are currently three).
Fast forward to the third session of the Human Rights Council. With an intentionally short memory, the African regional group submitted two resolutions this week related to Durban. One resolution[4] on "Preparations for the Durban Review Conference" deliberately leaves the title -- and therefore the purpose -- of the conference vague while calling for the establishment of a new mechanism to prepare for the conference. It calls for the Human Rights Council to act as the preparatory committee for the conference, elect a bureau and meet for three weeks in 2007 and two weeks in 2008 for a cost of $744,900.[5] The EU had introduced amendments[6] to the African Group's resolution that would have kept it consistent with what they agreed to less than a month ago in the Third Committee. However during informal consultations this week, South Africa and Egypt both claimed that they had a different recollection of what happened in New York and refused EU entreaties. The African Group's resolution was adopted December 8, 2006 by a vote[7] of 34 in favor, 12 against and 1 abstention thus ensuring that Durban 2009 will see a repeat of the 2001 conference -- only worse.
One specific inclusion in the resolution reveals the direction that the 2009 conference will take. In inviting different UN bodies to contribute to the new preparatory committee's work, the resolution singles out only two of the many Special Rapporteurs, the Special Rapporteur on Racism, and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. No mention is made, for example, of the rapporteur on promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. In other words, Islamophobia and its manifestations in Danish cartoons will be on the agenda. Freedom of expression will not.
And it doesn't end there. There was a second resolution on "follow-up" to the Durban Conference introduced by the African Group. In addition to the body created in the first resolution to plan the 2009 review conference, this resolution creates yet another Durban-related mechanism -- the Ad Hoc Committee of the Human Rights Council on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards. Notably, a totally separate group of experts was just appointed to produce a report on recommendations to deal with the gaps in standards on combating racism. The EU proposed waiting until that report is received (end of June 2007) to then decide -- based on the report -- whether or not an Ad Hoc Committee is necessary. They lost, and by a vote[8] of 33 in favor, 12 against and 1 abstention, the Ad Hoc Committee to elaborate standards will be set up 7 months before the outcome of the report considering the advisability of elaborating standards. Furthermore, the purpose of the Ad Hoc Committee is to create "new normative standards aimed at combating all forms of contemporary racism, including incitement to racial and religious hatred" -- in other words to turn the alleged defamation of Islam into a global witchhunt in the name of human rights. The cost for this exercise? $1,058,900.
These two resolutions adopted December 8, 2006 now bring the total number of bodies born from the racist and anti-semitic Durban Conference to five. They are:
With a few exceptions, the Durban enterprise is synonymous with
racism not its prevention. And it just got a whole lot bigger.
Footnotes
1. http://www.eyeontheun.org/view.asp?l=16&p=69 has some of graphics displayed during Durbin 20011.
2. Download 2009_resolution_review_conference_95573.pdf from Eye on the UN.
3. Download EU-EOV_DUrban_11-22-06_49c53.pdf from Eye on the UN.
4. Download Resolution_durban_review_conference_12-8-06.doc from Eye on the UN.
5. Download Note_by_the_secretariat_on_draft_dec_on_prep_for_Durban_review_12-01-06.pdf from Eye on the UN.
6. Download EU_amendments_to_L2_Durban.doc from Eye on the UN.
7. Download voting_record_on_prep_for_Durban12-01-06.psf from Eye on the UN.
8. Download Draft_dec_on_follow-up_to_Durban_12-08-06.pdf from Eye on the UN.
This was written by Rebecca Tobin, reporting from Geneva for Eye on
the UN
(www.EyeOnTheUN.org). It was published December 8, 2006. It is archived at
http://www.eyeontheun.org/view.asp?l=36&p=348
| HOME | November-December 2007 Featured Stories | Background Information | News On The Web |
_________________________End of
Story___________________________