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After UN Votes for Durban III, Battle Lines Are Drawn

(JTA) - Marcy Oster When the original UN anti-racism conference, held in Durban, South Africa, in 2001, devolved into an anti-Israel hate fest, Jewish groups around the world were caught unawares. So when the Durban Review Conference was called for Geneva in 2009, Jewish activists started their fight early, convincing numerous countries to boycott the conference, dubbed Durban II, effectively blocking it from becoming a repeat of Durban I. Now, with last week's UN vote to authorize Durban III - a UN General Assembly session planned for September 2011 to commemorate the original Durban conference - the battle lines again are being drawn. The vote was 104-22 in favor of the special General Assembly session; 33 countries abstained. Voting against the Durban III session were Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, the Netherlands, Palau, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Macedonia, the UK and the U.S. Among the countries abstaining were Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, Hungary and Spain. "The vote of the UN General Assembly, while not unexpected, sets the stage for a celebration of the outrageous events that took place during Durban I, which were permeated by manifestations of bigotry and hatred," said a statement from the leaders of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Canada announced in November that it would boycott the Durban III session. The American ambassador to the UN, Susan E. Rice, said in a statement: "We voted 'no' because the Durban Declaration process has included ugly displays of intolerance and anti-Semitism, and we do not want to see that commemorated."
2010-12-31 08:24:37
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