Durban Review Summary: July 9, 2008
UN OHCHR offers grants to African NGOs to participate in Durban regional preparatory meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, August 24-26, 2008
July 8, UN Watch
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is offering grants of up to $2000 to African NGOs, to facilitate their participation in the Durban Preparatory Meeting, to be held in Abuja, Nigeria on August 24-26, 2008.
According to the Geneva-based UNWatch, “the UN will likely wind up funding groups such as the Cairo-based Arab Lawyers Union, which circulated anti-Semitic materials at the original 2001 conference in South Africa.“ UNWatch points out that the budget for such grants is made up mainly of contributions by Western countries. UN-Watch also believes that similar grants will be offered to NGOs to attend the Durban Review Conference in April 2009 in Geneva.
“Durban II-The Undeniable Agenda (III)“
July 8, 2008, Eye on the UN
This short film consists of a compilation of clips from the United Nations’ Webcast. This film reveals the role that Muslim countries have played in shaping the Preparatory Committee Meetings for the Durban Review Conference, exploiting the terminology of “universal human rights” to promote their interests and conceal the serious abuses of human rights committed by their own governments. In this film, UN delegates from Iran, Egypt, Pakistan and Algeria, among other countries, asserted that the Durban Review Conference should primarily focus on racial profiling, as well as on global Islamophobia.
“L’UE doit agir dès maintenant pour sauver Durban II [The European Union must act now to save Durban II]“
July 1, Le Temps, Alfred H. Moses
In this article, Moses argues that unless the European Union follows Canada’s lead in boycotting the Durban Review Conference or at least adhering to stringent principles and standards with regard to its agenda, Durban II risks developing into another forum for the disproportionate demonization of Israel, just like its predecessor. After reviewing the events leading up to Durban I, Moses draws parallels with the recent PrepComs championing Algeria’s and Pakistan’s interests, as well as the “non-paper” positing the main aims of the Durban Review Conference. He concludes that the EU has the power to positively influence the outcome of the Durban Review Conference. In his own words, “Ceux qui souhaitent que la Conférence de suivi de Durban s’attaque efficacement aux nombreux problèmes relatifs à l’intolérance dans le monde ont besoin d’être assurés qu’elle ne reproduira pas la débâcle de Durban I. Nous avons besoin d’être sûrs que l’Iran, la Libye et ses alliés n’écartent pas délibérément les victimes du racisme dans le monde dans le seul but de délégitimer Israël. Le sort de Durban II est désormais entre les mains de l’UE.”
[Those who wish that the Durban Review Conference effectively deals with the numerous problems related to intolerance in the world must ensure that it won't reproduce the debacle of Durban I. We must be sure that Iran, Libya and their allies do not deliberately push aside the victims of racism around the world with the sole aim of delegitimizing Israel. The outcome of Durban II is now in the hands of the EU.]
“Analyst condemns UN ‘double standard’ on human rights“
July 8, The Australian Jewish News, Peter Kohn
This article reports the key points made by Professor Anne Bayefsky, editor of eyeontheun.org and delegate to Durban I, during her address at the B’nai Brith Anti-Defamation Commission in Melbourne, Australia. Bayesfky condemned the UN Human Rights Council’s operations, suggesting that “countries with abysmal records run the UN’s human rights agenda and consistently condemn Israel in its struggle for survival, equating Zionism with Nazism and condemning western democracies, while ignoring abuses in Communist countries and much of the Islamic world.” Given her belief that Durban 2009 will repeat 2001, Bayefsky called on “Australia [to] join Canada, the US and Israel in boycotting next year’s Durban review conference in Geneva because there is no chance of reversing anti-Israel resolutions by taking part in the event.” NGO Monitor has urged Western governments to be prudent regarding their funding of NGOs participating in the Durban Review Conference, to ensure that it does not deteriorate into a platform of demonization of Israel.
