– HYPERLINK https://mail.hudsonny.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://blog.ngo-monitor.org/durban-conference/palestinian-ngo-coalition-uses-durban-2009-as-political-platform-ignore-abuses-in-latin-america/ \o Palestinian NGO coalition uses Durban 2009 as political platform; ignore abuses in Latin America \t _blank Palestinian NGO coalition uses Durban 2009 as political platform; ignore abuses in Latin America
June 19, 2008 
NGO Monitor 
Original Source: – HYPERLINK https://mail.hudsonny.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://blog.ngo-monitor.org/durban-conference/palestinian-ngo-coalition-uses-durban-2009-as-political-platform-ignore-abuses-in-latin-america/ \t _blank http://blog.ngo-monitor.org/durban-conference/palestinian-ngo-coalition-uses-durban-2009-as-political-platform-ignore-abuses-in-latin-america/

On June 2, various NGOs active in the Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment campaign sent a letter to the “people, government, movements, and organizations” of Latin American maintaining that the treatment of Palestinians should take priority as the most important human rights issue on the Durban 2009 agenda. Latin American human rights issues, such as human trafficking in Cuba, intimidation of human rights workers in Venezuela, and the abuse of children by peacekeepers in Haiti, along with other human rights issue pertaining to Latin America are totally ignored. 
The letter, signed by the Steering Committee of the Palestinian National Committee, Campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel, was sent in response to the first regional preparatory committee meeting for Durban 2009, which was held in Brasilia last week.
Badil, a signatoree and leading actor in the BDS campaign, applies international law in selective ways, pursues partisan political goals that are opposed to universal human rights advocacy, and promotes the “right of return” and dissolution of a Jewish state in Israel. 
The signatories of the letter display a perverted view of history by referring to Israel “as the world’s last state-sponsored colonial apartheid regime” and dismiss security concerns as a reason for Israel’s defensive military measures. The signatories also wrong attribute French, US, UK, and Israeli concerns and possible boycott of Durban 2009 (world’s ‘Imperial powers’ in the letter’s parlance) to “silence the principled voices of the victims of racism that shaped the agenda of the civil society conference at Durban in 2001.” That real human rights issues were not seriously taken up at Durban 2001 is entirely ignored by the letter. 
Although numerous governments have learned lessons from Durban 2001, this letter demonstrates that some NGOs are still committed towards using Durban 2009 as a platform to delegitimize Israel and pursue political goals divorced from human rights.