Durban Review Summary: June 12, 2008
Durban Review Summary
June 12, 2008
CJC wants name removed from Durban petition
June 11, 2008
The Canadian Jewish Congress may pull its name from the Magenta/Jacob Blaustein Statement of Core Principles for WCAR Follow Up, according to the Suburban (”Quebec’s largest English newspaper”). This document, signed by over ninety-five NGOs, expresses, among other commitments, that “the UN and its human rights fora must not serve as a vehicle for any form of racism, including anti-Semitism, and must bar incitement to hatred against any group in the guise of criticism of a particular government. We pledge to prevent this from happening again.”
CJC’s decision to potentially remove its name is largely due to the fact that CJC does not envision Durban II as being a platform to discuss real issues of discrimination and fears it could degenerate into a repeat of Durban 2001. The CEO of CJC, Bernie Farber, said that the document was signed ”well before Canada pulled out [of Durban II] and at a time when there was still some hope that maybe these principles could be adhered to. Two days after we signed the petition, that’s when we found out the preparatory committee [for Durban II] was going to have their two big planning meetings on Yom Kippur and Passover, and it went downhill from there. It was just awful. We’re probably in the midst, in the next couple of weeks, of asking to have our names removed [from the petition]. “
