Durban II: Nations Prepare For UN Anti-Racism Conference

On April 20, representatives from around the world will gather at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, for the Durban Review Conference, or the 2009 UN World Conference Against Racism (aka Durban II). The conference will follow up on the 2001 conference held in Durban, South Africa, says the conference website.

According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, the United States told Israeli officials that they will not be attending this year's conference. Other countries boycotting Durban II include Canada, Israel, Italy and Australia.

Participants on the call said that administration officials reaffirmed a Monday State Department statement that while the government believes there have been improvements in the conference's draft document, the changes were insufficient to allow the U.S. to take part in the United Nations-sponsored anti-racism conference.

Specifically, the State Department statement noted that the document must not reaffirm the 2001 Durban conference's draft document - which, by mentioning the "plight of the Palestinian people" places Israel's treatment of Palestinians in the context of race - and that the U.S. cannot support restrictions on freedom of expression that could result from the document's language related to "incitement" to religious hatred.

The New York Daily News described the politically charged conference as a "snow job."

The UN's idea of an anti-racism conference entered the final stretch yesterday with the planning committee deciding Iran ought to preside as a vice-chair, Libya will serve as the chair of the "Main Committee" running the conference and that Cuba will be the "rapporteur." All three human rights paragons will assume their new duties on the first day of "Durban II" set for Monday, April 20.

Although the flowers are blooming by Lake Geneva, these Durban II preparations are best described as a massive snow job. The UN had set aside three days to hammer out a final document to be adopted formally at the conference itself. But Chairwoman Najat Al-Hajjaji of Libya adjourned the meeting half an hour after it began - despite the fact that half of the 142-paragraph draft manifesto has not yet been agreed upon.

Despite the controversy over who is in what position and who will be absent, the United Nations' top human rights official, Navi Pillay, reminds countries of the importance of the issue and urges every member state to participate in the process, reports Xinhua.

"Lives are at stake. The future and hope of countless victims of racism lie in your hands," Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, told delegates at a preparatory meeting for the Durban Review Conference.

She also urged the delegates to "transcend their differences and find consensus" over the wording of a draft declaration to be issued at the end of the April 20-24 conference.

You can find the conference schedule here, and a list of participants here.