Source: – HYPERLINK http://foreignaffairs.republicans.house.gov/apps/list/press/foreignaffairs_rep/090220durban.shtml http://foreignaffairs.republicans.house.gov/apps/list/press/foreignaffairs_rep/090220durban.shtml
Date: February 20, 2009

House Foreign Affairs Committee 
U.S. House of Representatives 
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Republican
 
For Immediate Release 
February 20, 2009
Contact:  Sam Stratman, (202) 226-7875 
Brad Goehner, (202) 226-8467
Alex Cruz, (202) 225-8200
 
Ros-Lehtinen Commented Today on Preparations for UN’s Durban 2, 
Urges U.S. to Walk Away
Preparations Feature Anti-Israel Bias, Hostility to Gay Rights

(WASHINGTON) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented today on recent preparations for the UN’s Durban 2.  Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:
“Our nation faces serious economic challenges.  And we must do everything possible to prevent taxpayer dollars from going to waste by financing Durban 2.  Rather than fight racism, this conference will actually advance and promote prejudice and intolerance. 
“Just yesterday, Syria and Iran blocked efforts to condemn the Holocaust in the conference document.
“The fix is in – dictatorships like Iran, Libya and Cuba have hijacked the Durban 2 process to restrict freedom of expression, oppose gay rights, promote anti-Semitism, and single out the democratic State of Israel for condemnation.  
“It is naïve for any informed observer to believe that the rest of this process will be any different.  U.S. involvement will not miraculously convince the organizers to change course.
“The U.S. and other free, democratic nations must not grant precious legitimacy to this hate-fest. We must stay away from Durban 2 and explore alternative forums to combat intolerance.”
NOTE:  Ros-Lehtinen is the author of House Resolution 42, a bipartisan measure calling on the President and the Secretary of State to withhold U.S. participation and funding from Durban 2 and its preparatory activities.  Ros-Lehtinen has previously led a number of efforts on Durban 2, including convening a meeting in June 2008 with foreign diplomats, State Department officials, Members of Congress, human rights groups and other non-governmental organizations to discuss alternative forums to combat discrimination and intolerance. 
BACKGROUND: Durban II, the sequel to the biased 2001 World Conference Against Racism, will run from April 20-24 in Geneva.  Conference preparations, which continued this week, have been dominated by repressive regimes and gross human rights violators.