Durban 2 - "Anti-Racism Conference"

Today marks the first day of the 5-Day 'Durban II' conference in Geneva, Switzerland and it is no coincidence that it will also be Holocaust Rememberance Day in the country which the conference is most aimed at - Israel.

In 2001, the UN backed conference, though not an official part of the UN, on Anti-Racism was the centre of huge controversy as it focussed itself squarely on the issues within Israel over more blatant cases of racism elsewhere in the world. Zionism was condemned outright as the contemporary form of Nazism and apartheid. Calls for Israel to disappear were rife as were demands for its politicians to be brought before an international tribunal similar to the one in Nuremberg. Anti-Semitic cartoons were circulated, copies of “Mein Kampf” and the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” were handed out. Beneath a photo of Hitler were the words that Israel would never have existed and the Palestinians would never have had to spill their blood if he had been victorious. A number of delegates were physically threatened, there were calls of “Death to Jews”. This farce came to a head when the Sudanese Minister of Justice, Ali Mohamed Osman Yasin, demanded reparations for historical slavery, although in his own country, people are being shamelessly thrown into a new slavery today.

8 years later and this time the conference is being held in Geneva but has been dubbed 'Durban II' due to its unchanged stance towards the issues on the table and its attacks on Israel as seen by the proposed text and mission statment of those who have organised the event.

A full copy of the proposed text can be found here.

It is ironic to say the least that this confernce against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance has a keynote speech by no other than Ahmed Amedinajad of Iran. With its committee chaired by Libya, One of the changes to the text has been to replace the description of Israel to be racist with the codename of 'Foreign Occupation' which clearly has Israel in mind. Would this mean then that the NATO occupation of parts of the former Yugoslavia, Afganistan, and Iraq are racist?

Campaigns to boycott the event have been raging for several months if not years with the final list of countries not attending amounting to the US, Germany, Australia, Italy, Canada, Holland and Israel protesting language in the final document that they say could single out Israel for criticism and restrict free speech. Although the first Durban conference had good intentions, it was turned into a hate-fest against Israel and signs were clear that its sequel would be no different.

For the official website of Durban II, please click here.

To see a copy of the latest official newsletter distributed to participants of the Duban II Conference, please click here.

Text of the Official Durban Declaration and Programme of Action



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