The U.N. General Assembly decided last Friday to hold a high-level meeting to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Durban conference against racism in September 2011. Israel and Canada announced they would boycott the event.
The Durban process is monitoring the progress of the goals set forth in the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance held in Durban, South Africa, in 2001. It is regarded by Israel and other countries as a political tool for unjust criticism against it and a showcase of anti-Semitism.
The 2001 Durban conference concluded that Zionism is a form of racism. In the 2009 Durban follow-up conference, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was a key speaker. Several countries, including the United States and Germany, boycotted that conference.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry issued an official statement condemning the decision to hold the conference next year.
“Israel regrets that a resolution on an important subject—elimination of racism—has been diverted and politicized by the automatic majority at the U.N., by linking it to the Durban Declaration and Program of Action (2001) that many states would prefer to forget,” read the statement.
“The Durban Conference of 2001, with its anti-semitic undertones and displays of hatred for Israel and the Jewish world, left us with scars that will not heal quickly.”
Voting in favor of the resolution were 104 countries. Twenty-two countries, among them the United States, the U.K., and Australia, voted against it.
John F. Sammis, the U.S.’s Deputy Representative to the U.N.’s Economic and Social Council explained his country’s objection to the resolution. “My delegation regrets that this resolution contains elements that require us to vote no, and we hope to work together to find common ground on concrete approaches that both protect freedom of expression and combat all forms of racism and racial discrimination,” he said in an official statement.
“In addition to these concerns with the resolution, we are also deeply troubled by the choice of time and venue for the 10th anniversary commemorative event. Just days earlier, we will have honored the victims of 9/11, whose loved ones will be marking a solemn 10-year anniversary for them and the entire nation. It will be an especially sensitive time for the people of New York and a repeat of the vitriol sadly experienced at past Durban-related events risks undermining the relationship we have worked hard to strengthen over the past few years between the United States and the U.N.,” he added.
Canadian Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced as early as November 2010 that Canada will not attend the follow-up conference. “Just as Canada was the first in the world to withdraw from Durban 2, so too Canada will lead by not attending this new Durban event,” said Minister Kenney in an official statement.
“Our government has lost faith in the Durban process. We will not be part of this event, which commemorates an agenda that promotes racism rather than combats it.”
The Durban process is monitoring the progress of the goals set forth in the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance held in Durban, South Africa, in 2001. It is regarded by Israel and other countries as a political tool for unjust criticism against it and a showcase of anti-Semitism.
The 2001 Durban conference concluded that Zionism is a form of racism. In the 2009 Durban follow-up conference, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was a key speaker. Several countries, including the United States and Germany, boycotted that conference.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry issued an official statement condemning the decision to hold the conference next year.
“Israel regrets that a resolution on an important subject—elimination of racism—has been diverted and politicized by the automatic majority at the U.N., by linking it to the Durban Declaration and Program of Action (2001) that many states would prefer to forget,” read the statement.
“The Durban Conference of 2001, with its anti-semitic undertones and displays of hatred for Israel and the Jewish world, left us with scars that will not heal quickly.”
Voting in favor of the resolution were 104 countries. Twenty-two countries, among them the United States, the U.K., and Australia, voted against it.
John F. Sammis, the U.S.’s Deputy Representative to the U.N.’s Economic and Social Council explained his country’s objection to the resolution. “My delegation regrets that this resolution contains elements that require us to vote no, and we hope to work together to find common ground on concrete approaches that both protect freedom of expression and combat all forms of racism and racial discrimination,” he said in an official statement.
“In addition to these concerns with the resolution, we are also deeply troubled by the choice of time and venue for the 10th anniversary commemorative event. Just days earlier, we will have honored the victims of 9/11, whose loved ones will be marking a solemn 10-year anniversary for them and the entire nation. It will be an especially sensitive time for the people of New York and a repeat of the vitriol sadly experienced at past Durban-related events risks undermining the relationship we have worked hard to strengthen over the past few years between the United States and the U.N.,” he added.
Canadian Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced as early as November 2010 that Canada will not attend the follow-up conference. “Just as Canada was the first in the world to withdraw from Durban 2, so too Canada will lead by not attending this new Durban event,” said Minister Kenney in an official statement.
“Our government has lost faith in the Durban process. We will not be part of this event, which commemorates an agenda that promotes racism rather than combats it.”
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