November 4, 2008
Unofficial Transcript of EYEontheUN
Statement of the European Union on the Durban Review Conference

Max-Olivier Gonnet, France on behalf of the European Union 

Thank you Mr. Chairman. It is my honor to take the floor on behalf of the EU. The EU would like to thank the representative of South Africa, Mr. Ndimeni for his presentation on the progress made by the Preparatory Committee for The Durban Review Conference, on behalf of its chairman her Excellency Madam al-Hajjaji. The completion of the second substantive session of the Preparatory Committee on October 17th is an important step in the process in which the EU is currently involved in order to continue and to improve the effective implementation of the declaration and program of action at Durban. Following this second session of the Preparatory Committee we know that some progress has been made with respect to  preparation of the future outcome document of the conference and to define a schedule for our work which will take place. This session also allowed us to have important substantial debates and exchange of arguments. We place our confidence in the future president of the Inter-Governmental Working Group, the unlimited working group to carry out the work in time with the view to reaching a consensus. Bringing the positions of different delegations closer together requires constant efforts, including through informal and bilateral contacts, and we support the efforts made by the facilitator along these lines. Mr. Chairman, transparency and full participation by civil society are essential in this process. We believe that all observers deserve to have more time to express themselves before the Preparatory Committee sessions. Modalities for their participation should not have been a subject for controversy.  We all know how the contribution of civil society and […] is valuable for our work. It is also important for the working documents to be made available to them throughout the negotiating process. For the same reasons it is extremely regrettable that the process for accrediting  NGOs for the preparatory work and for the conference has once again led to political difficulties during this session. Although some solutions were eventually found to resolve individual cases, the EU would like to reaffirm the need to respect rules applied to the UN in this area, and to respect all aspects of the accreditation process with respect to respecting freedom of expression for civil society organizations. We place our faith in the continuing process for preparing for the conference which should focus on implementation of the previous conference, without trying to restrict any human rights or establishing any hierarchy amongst victims or excluding any groups. The process should not focus on certain geographical regions either. The Program of Action made it possible to make significant efforts in eliminating discriminations, particularly based on gender and sexual orientation. The review conference offers a genuine opportunity to strengthen these agreements in fighting against discrimination including fighting against anti-Semitism. The review conference should, in the future, consecrate itself to the future and not the past and all human rights, particularly freedom of expression which plays an important role in fighting against racism. As we have already indicated any attempt to limit these rights would be unacceptable for the EU. At the same time we emphasis the fundamental role played by human rights learning in fighting against racism. In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I would like to reiterate that we should search for consensus and unity amongst the international community to fight against racism in all its forms everywhere in the world. Racism is a global problem and every country should make it a priority. The EU hopes that the international community as a whole will be able to work in a constructive way, in order to make progress in fighting racism, and put an end to the suffering of its victims throughout the world.