August 11th, 2008 by NGO Monitor Staff | Category: Durban Conference, Durban Review Conference, EU, UN

France Reiterates its Commitment to Boycott Durban II if it Fails to Respect its Objectives

August 8, 2008, UN Watch

In response to Roland Blum’s parliamentary question addressed to France’s Foreign Affairs and Human Rights Secretary, Minister Rama Yade writes on August 5, 2008 that “It is only by attending the [Durban Review Conference] and by remaining vigilant and inflexible that France and the EU will be able to uphold the fundamental values of the United Nations and to mobilize all countries to combat racism worldwide.” She argues that as a Durban I participant, it is France’s responsibility to follow up on its final declaration in a regular United Nations Review process. However, she emphasizes that “France will remain engaged in this process only if the review conference does not depart from its assigned objectives.” Israel, the United States, the UK and the Netherlands have taken a similar stance, while Canada has announced its withdrawal from the Durban Review Conference.

“U.N. racism conference: The ulterior agenda”
August 10, 2008, The San Francisco Chronicle,  Joel Brinkley

Joel Brinkley, Professor of Journalism at Stanford University, predicts that the Durban Review Conference will “cleave an even deeper divide between the Arab states and the rest of the world“. He claims that the Conference’s planning committee, led by Libya, Iran and Cuba, has “a clear agenda: to batter Israel and the United States and ram through proclamations decrying insults to Islam.” He remarks that “The United Nations’ much-maligned Human Rights Council is organizing Durban II, so it’s small wonder that the planning is proceeding as it has.” Therefore, he concludes that “The best course is to ignore it,” as Canada and the United States have done up until now.