After Durban II, the Question of the United Nations

Part failure? Part success? The outcome of Durban II could be debated ad infinitum.

For me, an anti-racism conference that was organized by Libya, kicked off by Iran, and concluded with a speech whose only merit is, they gloat, the avoidance of a frontal attack on women, Jews, religious and sexual minorities, free thinkers, and indigenous people, is a total failure.

And I do not regret having called for a boycott early on of what could only have been a masquerade and which, from this point of view and, unfortunately, only this point of view, kept all of its promises. Thank goodness, by the way, for the young people of the Union of French Jewish Students who, in interrupting Ahmadinejad's speech disguised as clowns, exemplified the word "masquerade" and sent it back like a boomerang to the authors of this painful farce.

Now we must look to the future.

Now the only remaining legitimate question is to know when, how, and under what conditions can the error and the insult be repaired: ah! the humiliation of the Rwandan ambassador in Geneva, crossing in front of the Palace of Nations the first evening, and understanding anew, just as during Durban I, that the Conference had been taken hostage by people determined to say nothing about the terrifying martyrdom of her people! The despair of the Burundians, Angolans, Sri Lankans, and other representatives of the untouchable Indians, or of the Christian minority of the Moluccas, who must have resigned themselves to the fact that their suffering would be lost in a debate hamstrung by this declaration: "Either the debate will focus on the question of Islamaphobia, the offense of blasphemy, or the racist nature of Zionism, or there will be no debate at all!" These millions, these tens of millions of victims, who should have been the beating heart of a Summit meant to lambast genocides and attacks on human rights everywhere in the world, but who were handed the verdict, as in the case of the Darfuris: "You are neither Jews nor Palestinians? Your misfortune has no link to the criminal State of Israel or its accessory and ally, the great American Satan? In that case, keep moving! There's nothing of worth in your story! You literally don't exist in the eyes of the brilliant ideologues charged by the United Nations to organize the event!"

I see at least one condition under which the scandal not only does not happen again, but is one day repaired.

It will take time, of course.

It will take men and women of a higher caliber than Mr. Ban Ki-moon.

It will also take democracies that are not content to have "avoided the worst," as they currently trumpet, and who dare, without reticence or sheepish guilt, to bear proudly the standard of their values.

But the truth is that there is a precondition that, to do well, must be considered in all urgency.

And this precondition is the overhaul of the current Human Rights Council which has spent years planning the grotesque failure which has been dominated, thanks to the absurdity of the UN rules, by representatives not only from Libya and Iran, but from Pakistan, Vietnam, and Cuba.

The Human Rights Council must be dissolved.

A Council must be reinvented. One equipped with a governing system that -- unlike today -- would make it impossible for murderous States to take control.

A simple procedure must be invented which, just as a citizen guilty of crimes can be temporarily deprived of his civic rights, would allow the exclusion of rogue, dictatorial, and genocidal States until they change regimes.

This is the price of an international human rights policy worthy of the name, and that would come to the aid of all victims, without exception.

It is in this manner that a true great anti-racism Conference will perhaps one day be organized, dedicated to the plight of the immense number of dead, or of those on death row, that are obscured, erased from our radars, and silenced by the adherents of the "grand narrative" which, in the land of the damned of the Earth, wants to see only one face -- anti-Zionist in any form and, if possible, Islamist.

Let's take back the grand word "anti-racism" from the scoundrels who have hijacked it.

Let's return to its original meaning in an anti-racism fight that has no reason, truly none, to be abandoned to the friends of the racist Ahmadinejad or to the slave traders of Khartoum.

For the honor and the salvation of those still in Rwanda and Darfur, in solidarity with the homosexuals hanged in Tehran or imprisoned in Cuba, for the love of newlyweds burned alive in Afghanistan or stoned in any of the Arab Emirates, because nothing is more despicable, in a word, than a double standard in the matters of human rights. I'll say it again -- let's forget this conference of shame and quickly get ready for Geneva III, the Estates General of poverty.

Translated from French by Sara Phenix.

Comments

[mikesw]

BHL writes: "It will take men and women of a higher caliber than Mr. Ban Ki-moon."

I would like to suggest a man who appears meet Bernard-Henri's higher standards:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F36OXrrO3Fc

[Wozzeck]

Seems like a pattern: bring back the Pro-Israel articles by Zuckerman or Levy run during the week and put them on the front page on Sunday again. They were not received well the first time. Running them again only makes the ideological slant of the editors more blatant.

[Freenation]

I made the same observation for earlier article by Zuckerman:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mort-zuckerman/the-story-you-arent-heari_b_186195.html?show_comment_id=23266760#comment_23266760

[Freenation]

people like Levy, Zuckerman etc are still stuck in time when print media ruled...wh­en people had no other source to check for the authenticity of the facts as all the media print, radio, tv were controlled by same organizati­ons....int­ernet changed the game big time...pri­nt media rejection is the proof people are sick of listening these so called 'experts' authors who shove their twisted agendas...

this whole article while mentioning libya and iran had no mention of is.rael which is in the same league of these two...is.r­ael has killed thousands of civilians and levy conveniently ignored this....

Levy and others try to write fair articles..­.

[Freenation]

i posted this message in levy's earlier article for his mentioning of untouchables in india..do read:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bernardhenri-levy/speaking-on-the-holocaust_b_189828.html?show_comment_id=23370022#comment_23370022

[ToonMoene]

To me, a lefty of the Netherlands political spectrum, it was thoroughly natural to be opposed to that remnant of Dutch colonialism, Apartheid. I organised against it - I thought I had the backing of the UN.

If Durban II signifies the UN position on racism - you can cancel my subscription to that organisation ....

[GZLives]

Levy of course speaks the truth.
A conference on racism chaired by Libya is analogous to Mel Brooks doing Spring Time for Hitler for real.

People get a grip ... Libya and Cuba pretending to be anti racists ?
Shall we begin with homosexuals ?

Pleeease
many of you are embarrassing yourselves

[Stephen17]

Please allow me to respond GZ. Many of us are not so much embarrassed as chagrined at Israel's total disregard for the plight of the Palestinian people.

[Doctor Nick]

Cuba has a long history of anti-racism. One of the first things ended by the revolution was legal segregation. Cuba was always one of the strongest supporters of African independence and anti-colonial movements (there is a reason why Mandela and Castro were close). There are lots of problems in Cuba (including tolerance of homosexuals, which has increased but is not at "Western" levels), and there is still racial inequality (though less than in US or France), but
there is no "pretending" to be anti racist for Cuba. The government has been implementing officially anti-racist foreign and domestic policies since 1959, and to the extent that racism still exists in Cuba it is a reflection of human nature and centuries of prejudice, rather than any policy of the government or Cuban leadership.

I say this as someone who has lived in Cuba for months and traveled around the island. I am not blind to Cuba's faults, but Cuba deserves to be at an "anti-racism" conference as much as any other country.

[Winonaah]

Levy says, “Let's take back the grand word "anti-racism" from the scoundrels who have hijacked it.”
I find it increasingly offensive to hear people call any incident of discrimination against anyone a racist act. People who do this eclipse phenotype-based oppression by coopting and corrupting the reality of it. They overburden it into obscurity. In the United States, it was only 50 years ago that laws were passed to make it illegal to politically and economically oppress and exploit people of color and more precisely “people of a darker hue.” In too many countries, violence and sexual abuse of women and children of color is so prevalent that the number of resulting deaths makes it the holocaust of our time. Our blindness to the true cause of their plight makes them especially vulnerable to those who profit from the sale of human beings. The particular and peculiar experience of racial discrimination, as well as the word racism has been hijacked. The “scoundrels” are those who have privilege and power or equal opportunity to achieve it, and yet they seek to further their political agenda by supporting those who are masquerading as its victims.

[larry278]

Mr Levy & those who write for the electronicIntifada are skilled advocates. The eI views events differently than Mr Levy views these events. If you are not confused after reading Mr Levy & eI, you didn't understand Mr Levy or eI. Listening to Americans who have visited Israel & sites occupied by Palestinians can be enlightening.

[Hank007]

He does make an important point: countries he doesn't like should not be allowed to play! What with all their human rights issues, only the sterling US can lead the... Oh wait, we have 4% of the world's population, but 25% of the world's prisoners, most of whom are non-violent and minorities. Well, OK, so we also execute people, some of whom are mentallyretared, and we tortured those guys, but still! None of those other countries should be allowed.

Go back and read what he wrote before the conference, when he was yelling as shrilly as as the people he now criticizes, to get his agenda covered. Back then it had nothing to do with Africa. He's another one who loves the ideal of democracy, until the wrong people win.

[EqualMeansEqual]

Many many nations violate Human rights on a level higher than the US. I guess you think everyone should be perfect before sexist, opressive nations lecture people on tolerance.

We have such a high prison rate because we have the most violent, drug addicted nation in the western world.Look at our murder rates and such and tell me we need to release violent criminals?

You did not even read his article I bet, he makes the point many, many other forms of racism where not even mentioned along with the issues of other nations that did not involve Israel. Can;t have a y even "international" conference on racism and only focus on one thing and one subject.
And the

[EqualMeansEqual]

BUt drugs should be legal.

[a human being]

You are right Mr. Levy; there sure is a “Question of the United Nations”. One need only to look at all the resolutions taken by UN (the General Assembly and the Security Council) since its creation, to see that the ones complied to, are rare!

You can start with the UN resolutions concerning the problem of the Middle East, starting with the UN resolution 181, dating back to November 29, 1947 ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_General_Assembly_Resolution_181 - have a look at the map, and then look at a 4/2009 map), then you can get the whole list (though incomplete ) here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_Nations_resolutions_concerning_Israel
here: http://wake-up-america.net/UN%20Resolutions%20against%20Israel.htm and here http://www.nowarforisrael.com/articles/resolutions.html etc.

Can you do something about it, Mr. Levy?

By the way, there used to be a UN resolution 3379, passed on March 22nd 1975, equating Zionism with racism, but it was revoked in 1991, by the UN resolution 46/86, introduced personally by President G.H.W. Bush.

[Chazak]

Anti Israel resolutions are easy to pass in the UN. So many members of the UN are from Arab and/or Islamic nations.

[TheHandyman]

And so many more of them aren't but vote against Isreal anyway. Can't imagine why tho, they are such a peaceful, generous neighbor always willing to do free population control through the use of violence and destruction.

[philhein]

Unfortunately, when Israel-related issues are concerned, erstwhile fine minds like BHL (and Alan Dershowitz) lose any sense of objective analysis.
What criteria does BHL recommend be used as to when to maintain or cancel/boycott a scheduled UN conference ? Particularly one whose final declaration was so carefully pre-negotiated among all member states- and in the end adopted word for word. One has difficultly identifying the “brilliant ideologues” who organized this conference and whom BHL blames for the “masquerade” ? In this area surely Ban Ki Moon and Ms Pillay cannot begin to compete with BHL.

[Cullen Stalin]

Bernard-Henri Levy: A neocon in liberal's clothing..­. why does he write for HuffPo again?

[Stephen17]

Funny! I was wondering the same thing.

[slaneyblack]

Because they won't have him in France.

[JonSmiley]

Precisely. He should post at Commentary or the Jerusalem Post.

[shotei]

Attacking him as a person rather than his arguments is the weakest possible argument.

[misaacm]

What's wrong boys, don't like to see opposing views? I guess too much thinking makes your heads hurt. Don't worry, I'm sure that a tidal wave of "blame Israel for everything" pieces will be showing up in the HP soon.

[Stephen17]

How about next time we let Mr. Netanyahu and Israel run the show. How would that be? Ok, you think?

[Valyard]

Though I agree that the conference was a farce I still believe that Israel's treatment of Palestinians should not be without reproach. Human rights abuses in the Islamic world should be equally denounced.

[zius]

"because nothing is more despicable, in a word, than a double standard in the matters of human rights"...­yup you got this right.... that's why i criticize Israels actions ....becaus­e no one in our media criticizes it's actions...­..no double standards please...

[JonSmiley]

Mr. Levy, take your partisan Jewish hat off and see the reality for what it is. Your only beef with the conference has to do with the fact that Israel was criticized.

[ManinVB]

Its not that israel was criticized it was the point that the whole conference becomes a jew hatefest when its supposed to be an anti-racism conference. JonSmiley meet irony.