Source: http://www.ajc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=1323269&ct=5601925 http://www.ajc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=1323269&ct=5601925
Date: June 23, 2008

AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE STATEMENT ON DURBAN REVIEW CONFERENCE

Adopted by the Board of Governors on June 23, 2008

As the American Jewish Committee looks ahead to the planned 2009 Review Conference on the 2001 UN World Conference Against Racism – the Durban, South Africa, forum remembered as a showcase of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel invective – we reiterate our profound commitment to the global struggle against racism, and our parallel commitment to averting the subversion of that just cause in a conference that would follow the aberrant course set in Durban.
 Our deep convictions regarding the elimination of racism and racial discrimination, and our allegiance to the principles outlined in the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination of 1969, emanate in part from our own experience as a people. Racist theories and practices were at the root of the Holocaust, in which six million Jews, a full third of the Jewish people, together with countless other minorities, were murdered. While the Holocaust was a unique tragedy for Jews, its lessons are universal. The human rights of all individuals must be secured, without regard to race, religion, ethnicity, language or gender.
 The World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, convened in September 2001, became a forum that certain Arab, Muslim and non-aligned countries used to attack Israel, invoke the infamous allegation that Zionism is a form of racism, deny the uniqueness of the Holocaust and distort the meaning of the term anti-Semitism. The final documents of the conference were eventually cleansed of most of the contentious language, but only after the U.S. and Israel withdrew from the conference. Furthermore, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict remained the only regional conflict mentioned in these documents. The Durban declaration did, however, for the first time in a UN world conference, mention the Holocaust, saying it “must never be forgotten.” 
 Worse than the official conference was the NGO Forum, in which participants openly expressed hatred toward Jews and Israel and sought to exclude and silence Jewish representatives. The Forum’s extreme declaration not only criticized Israel but sought to delegitimize its existence.   
In December 2006, the UN General Assembly voted to convene a Review Conference on implementation of the Durban final documents, assigning its preparation to the Human Rights Council. Given the structure of the Council and its hostility toward Israel, it was unsurprising that the preparatory process would reflect ongoing efforts by the anti-Israel bloc to single out and censure the Jewish state. In 2007, the Council established a committee to oversee preparations, with Libya elected as chair and Iran and Cuba among the 19 vice-chairs. In a recent working group meeting, a “non-paper” was circulated that included language from the 2001 Durban Declaration decrying the conditions of the Palestinians under occupation, while omitting the Declaration’s explicit affirmation of Israel’s right to live in peace and security.
Canada has announced that it will not participate in the Review Conference “because it shows every sign…of being as noxious an event as the first one was.” Israel has announced that it “will not participate…unless it is proven that the Conference will not be used as a platform for further anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic activities.” The U.S., similarly, is monitoring the review process but remains skeptical and uninvolved. President Sarkozy of France has declared that “France, which will hold the European Union presidency in the second half of 2008, will argue for Europe to pull out [of the Review Conference] if its legitimate demands are not respected.”
AJC regards preparations for the Review Conference with grave concern. We wish to emphasize the following:
·         The Durban conference of 2001 was a setback to the struggle against racism and racial discrimination, because rather than uniting the international community around this noble cause, it divided it. Since the conference was held under the auspices of the UN, its failure also damaged the reputation of the world body. The Durban debacle must not be repeated.
·         One of the main reasons for the Durban debacle was that moderate and responsible members of the international community allowed extremists to dominate the preparatory process for too long. This mistake must be avoided. As suggested by President Sarkozy, members of the European Union, and other like-minded countries, should pose clear conditions that, if not fully met, will lead to their non-participation in the Review Conference.
·         The U.S. administration should work in coalition with responsible governments to ensure that the Review Conference remains true to the cause of combating racism and racial discrimination.
·         The General Assembly charged the 2009 conference with reviewing “the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.” The text of these documents should not be reopened for negotiation, as it would only bring about divisions and controversy.
·         States should review implementation of the Durban Declaration’s non-discrimination measures worldwide, including by the UN itself, in a fair, non-politicized manner. No country, or conflict, should be singled out by the Review Conference. However, if countries are to be so cited, reference must be made to, among others, Iran, whose president has called for the destruction of another member state and denied the Holocaust, and Sudan, which has conducted a genocidal campaign against non-Arabs in the region of Darfur.
·         The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not a racial one, and is thus outside the scope of a conference on racism. It is a political conflict between two peoples with competing national goals – and must be addressed as such, lest it become all the more difficult to resolve. 
·         Including the issue of “defamation of religion” among Review Conference topics, as members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference have proposed, poses a risk to freedom of speech, one of the core values of democracy.
·         As acknowledged by two General Assembly resolutions, the UN bears special responsibility to assure that the Holocaust and its lessons are never forgotten. It is important that this principle be reflected in the final documents of the Review Conference, and that no distortion of the meaning of the term anti-Semitism be permitted.
·         AJC supports the Magenta-Jacob Blaustein Institute statement on core principles concerning the Review Conference, demanding, inter alia, civility and respect and barring incitement and hatred against any group. We call upon like-minded NGOs to work with us to ensure that the Review Conference remains true to the original goals of the global campaign against racism and racial discrimination, and that the excesses of the NGO Forum of 2001 are not repeated.
·         We call upon the UN General Assembly to approve the recommendation of the preparatory committee to hold the Review Conference in Geneva, hopeful that this venue will provide the Conference with an environment free of hatred and intimidation, and call on the Swiss government to ensure the safety and well-being of all participants.