Durban II did not help the war against racism

By Henry Gombya
April 29, 2009
The Daily Monitor
Original Source: http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/features/Durban_II_did_not_help_the_war_against_racism_83979.shtml

The United Nations Conference Against Racism (WCAR), which ends in Geneva, Switzerland, today, will perhaps best be remembered for the the walk-out by Western delegates and demonstrations outside the meeting hall. 
The five-day conference, which opened on April 20 at the UN headquarters, was organised to evaluate the progress achieved so far, towards the goals set by the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Intolerance in the South African city of Durban in 2001.
However, it seems that Africa will gain little from Durban II – as it is also known – if the contribution of delegates from the continent is anything to go by. Delegates from Africa largely glossed over the main issues, with only a few making any serious contributions. 
Among the notable contributors was Kenya’s Assistant Minister for Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs, Mr William Cheptumo, who warned that the current global economic crisis is posing severe challenges to the most vulnerable sectors of society. 
Speaking shortly before the conference adopted a 16-page document re-affirming its pledges to combat racism, Mr Cheptumo said it was regrettable that eight years after the first summit on racism in Durban, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance continue to thrive.
Cheptumo was among the few delegates who came out to say that there had been little progress among member states with regard to the elimination of racism since the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action was adopted in 2001. He said the international community needed to work together to undo the damage caused by past injustices. “This conference should send a clear message that the international community is determined to eradicate the vestiges of racism, xenophobia and related intolerance,” he said.
Call for willpower
Mr Cheptumo was supported by the Libyan deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Abdulati Alobidi, who said that lack of political will by the international community had made it difficult to end the scourge of racism. He, too, pointed out that despite international efforts to combat racism, the objectives of the Durban Conference in South Africa in 2001 are yet to be met, adding that the fight against racism called for willpower on the part of the international community, as well as the implementation of genuine programmes to counter the racist behaviour. 
“People of African origin were exploited for centuries by whites, who did not accept their dignity,” Alobidi said. Then, demanding reparations and apologies on behalf of the people of Africa, the assistant minister said such demands would help avoid a repeat of racism. He said Libya was calling on all states that had been colonised to seek compensation and apologies from their former colonisers. 
Alobidi, who said it was unacceptable for anyone to liken Islam to terrorism, called for the inclusion of a paragraph calling for reparations in the outcome document, but his appeal fell on deaf years. Instead, the document stated that slavery, the slave trade, apartheid, colonialism and genocide must never be forgotten. 
No mention of recent events
Generally, the delegates agreed that racism has often led to war, but there was no mention of the problems faced, for example, by the people of Darfur in Sudan, where thousands have lost their lives as a result of racial discrimination. Nor was there any mention of the relatively more recent events in Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe, where lives were lost because of xenophobia and intolerance. 
Meanwhile, South African Foreign Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma only made a passing remark about the xenophobic attacks that took place in her country last year. She did not say what her country had done to make sure such incidents never occurred again and whether the relatives of those affected had received any compensation, or even an apology. 
Interestingly, Dr Zuma had a lot more to say about Rwanda. Commenting on the 1994 genocide in that country, she said that “Propaganda and incitement by Radio Mille Collines, other media and politicians were to blame for the Rwanda massacres. “We remain concerned at the surge of incidents relating to incitement to racial and religious hatred. In this regard, we should learn from the lessons of the past,” she said.
Progress in US ignored
She also talked of lack of basic services such as water, energy, housing, health care facilities and sanitation.
It is notable that while delegates said little about the suffering in different parts of Africa as a result of discrimination and intolerance and kept congratulating each other on the “tremendous progress” made towards the elimination of racism since Durban I, they made no mention whatsoever of the progress made in the US, where, for the first time ever, a black man, Barack Obama, was elected president in November last year. 
Earlier, at the opening of the conference, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had caused outrage when he called Israel the most racist country in the world and accused powerful countries of forcing “a totally racist government” on the people of Palestine. His remarks prompted a walk-out by several delegates, mostly from the European Union.
President’Ahmadinejad’s remarks also drew reactions from top UN officials, with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon terming his speech “unacceptable” and a “very disturbing experience”. “I have not experienced this kind of destructive proceedings in an assembly, in a conference, by any one member state,” the secretary general told journalists. He added that it was deeply regrettable that his plea to Ahmadinejad before the start of the conference to look to the future of unity was not heeded. 
Also reacting to the Iranian leader’s comments, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Navi Pillay, said it was improper to use a United Nations forum for “political grandstanding”. “I was hoping against hope that the President of Iran would respect the parameters of this conference. It was a totally unacceptable situation,” Ms Pillay said.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store, for his part, said President Ahmadinejad, though exercising his right to freedom of speech, had chosen to place his country outside the limits of the United Nations Declaration on Freedom of Speech. 
“Freedom of speech, yes. But the document that we have agreed to is also clear on the need to protect against the incitement of hatred. I heard the messages in the President’s speech – and they amount to just that: incitement of hatred, spreading politics of fear and promoting an indiscriminate message of intolerance.” Mr Store said. He added that Norway would not allow “the odd-man-out” to hijack the collective effort of the many. 
Norway has often acted as a go-between during secret talks between Israel and Palestine. It was also instrumental in bringing together the ANC and the former South African apartheid leaders for talks that led to majority rule in South Africa. 
As if aware of what was going to happen at the opening ceremony on Monday, former South African president Mr Nelson Mandela told the conference that gatherings of its nature are always bound to have disagreements and differences of opinion. 
In a statement he sent to the conference, Mandela said: “Given the diversity of the people and the interest of states participating in the conference, such divergences are normal and, indeed, healthy.” 
And speaking after the adoption of the outcome document, which was due to be signed last Friday, the president of the conference, Kenya’s Attorney-General Amos Wako, said the quick adoption by member states of the document showed that boycotts did not help the process. 
“It shows that one could remain constructively engaged and reach a consensus. He was referring to 16 delegates who walked out on April 20 when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for the replacement of the United Nations and the Security Council for having helped created Israel, which he accused of being racist. 
Among other things, the Review Conference document emphasised the need to address with greater resolve and political will all forms of racism and xenophobia. It also renewed its call to states that have yet to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination to consider ratifying or acceding to the convention “as a matter of priority”. 
Further, it emphasises the importance of setting up effective national monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to ensure that all the necessary steps are taken to follow up on the final observations and general recommendations of the committee. 
In retrospect, it seems that having President Ahmadinejad as the first speaker on the first day of the conference was an ill thought move. With the entire world press assembled Ito record the opening ceremony, he is that last person one would have expected to be given the opportunity to start off the conference. The organisers played right into his hands and what a show he put on! 
The Iranian leader, who stopped short of calling for the destruction of Israel — as he has so often done — called for the formation of new world organisations to replace the United Nations at whose headquarters he was speaking, as well as the Security Council, which he said had been established by the world’s most powerful nations in order to oppress the less powerful. 
There were noisy but peaceful demonstrations outside the UN headquarters building where the conference is taking place. About 100 men and women of all races waved flags and blew whistles, calling on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to do more about Darfur. They shouted “Down, down, down with (Sudanese President) Bashir!” and were joined by passing motorists who hooted their car horns.
The conference was boycotted by nine countries, namely Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, and the US. EU president The Czech Republic left on the first day and boycotted the remainder of the conference while 23 members of the union sent low-level delegations. 
Among the concerns expressed by the western countries was that the conference would not deal with discrimination against homosexuals. They also have criticised the meeting for focusing on racism and discrimination in the West while ignoring similar problems in the developing world.
Africa Insight is an initiative of the Nation Media Group’s Africa Media Network Project