Source: http://www.ejpress.org/article/35284 http://www.ejpress.org/article/35284
Date: March 11, 2009

European Jewish group to EU: 'withdraw from Durban II Geneva conference '

PARIS (EJP)--The European Jewish Congress called upon the EU presidency to withdraw from the United Nations Durban Review Conference scheduled to take place in Geneva next month. 
 “After important and highly productive meetings with the European Union presidency, the European Jewish Congress (EJC) calls upon the European Presidency to take the principled and correct step and withdraw from the upcoming Durban II conference,” the EJC said Tuesday in a statement. 
 
The EU is currently chaired by the Czech Republic. 
 
The conference is to take place April 20-24 at the UN headquarters in Geneva.
 
“Based upon the important efforts and statements made by European leaders to stamp out the scourge of racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism, there is simply no alternative other than a boycott of Durban II by the EU presidency and EU nations.,” said Moshe Kantor, the EJC president.  
 
Kantor recalled that European officials have made important statements that racism must not be tolerated. 
 
“EU leaders such as French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and others truly committed to protecting human rights and preventing racism and xenophobia, should, like Italy, announce their withdrawal from Durban II without delay,” Kantor added. 
 
“We urge the European presidency to act according to its own guidelines and therefore boycott Durban II, and encourage European nations to follow suit.”
 
The chief planners for Durban II are a 20-strong panel, chaired by Libya and comprise a diverse group that includes countries ranked among the worst offenders of human rights, among them Iran, Pakistan and Cuba, the EJC stressed.
 
It added: “As such, one example of what may be expected at the upcoming Durban II conference can be seen through the results of a recent committee tasked with drafting for Durban II, whereby Iran and Syria asked that provisions against Holocaust-denial be deleted.”
 
According to the EJC, Syria also requested that mention of the Holocaust should be minimized as the Syrians claimed that there is no agreement on the consensus on the percentage of those who perished in the Holocaust.
 
“The fact that Holocaust denial is gaining a prominent place at a United Nations-sponsored conference ostensibly devoted to combating racism is troubling and beyond hypocritical,” Kantor said. 
 
 
“Europeans are waiting for their elected officials to show their leadership on human rights and anti-Semitism by announcing that they will not take part in Durban II,” the EJC president said.