Source: http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/news/wjcnews/wjn_archives/2009/03/wjcn_090303_durban.html http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/news/wjcnews/wjn_archives/2009/03/wjcn_090303_durban.html
Date: March 3, 2009

WJC President Lauder praises US pullout from Durban II conference

The president of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), Ronald S. Lauder, has welcomed the decision by the US Government to withdraw from the upcoming United Nations conference on anti-racism in Geneva over concerns that it would become a repeat of the failed event held in Durban, South Africa, in September 2001. Every day it becomes clearer that the Durban Review Conference is not about combating racism, but about promoting anti-Israel and anti-Semitic propaganda within the framework of the United Nations. The Obama administration and secretary of state Hillary Clinton deserve praise for sending a strong warning signal to the UN. Unfortunately, the efforts by the US administration to ameliorate this process have not succeeded, Lauder stated. 
He added: This conference should not be attended by the governments of democratic countries because it undermines the very purpose of the UN and does great damage to this important institution. The WJC president expressed hope that other governments would also stay away from the Geneva conference. We hope that EU and other countries will follow the lead of Canada, Israel, and the United States. It would be a travesty if the UN's anti-racism conference were to become a platform for propagating hatred and intolerance. No government should take part in such a shameful event, the WJC president said. 
Lauder also pointed out that countries with abysmal human rights records were in the forefront of activities leading up to the Durban Review Conference. Surely no good can result from a conference where countries such as Libya, Iran, Pakistan and Syria are dictating the agenda. The plights of the victims of true racism and discrimination are being ignored. Sudan is not condemned for the mass killings in Darfur, Iran has been given a pass for its cruel treatment of Bahais and other minorities, as well as its mass executions of students and dissidents. Pakistan is not being held accountable for introducing Sharia law in order to appease the Taliban. These and other countries are attempting to protect their extremist ideologies under the disguise of banning the 'defamation of religion' while at the same time refusing to condemn Holocaust denial, Ronald Lauder said, adding that The World Jewish Congress will urge world leaders to not participate in the Durban Review Conference.
Meanwhile, a http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/news/wjcnews/wjn_archives/2009/03/wjcn_090303_durban.html resolution passed by the World Jewish Congress Executive was sent to Australia's foreign minister Smith by Robert Goot, president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and vice-president of the World Jewish Congress. The resolution said there was a high possibility that the April 20-25 conference would constitute an unwarranted and illegitimate attack on democratic freedoms, international human rights law, and an attack on Israel.
At a dinner of the French Jewish umbrella organization CRIF on Monday night, France's prime minister François Fillon reiterated that his government would not permit that Israel be stigmatized or unfairly singled out for criticism at the Durban Review Conference. If such a thing happened, he said, his government would not hesitate to withdraw from the meeting. Prior to Fillon's speech, CRIF president Richard Prasquier called on France not to make any compromise in Geneva. Don't let Iran, Libya and Cuba define what human rights should be, Prasquier said.
The president of the European Jewish Congress, Moshe Kantor, said the EU had to show strong leadership and to boycott Durban II.