You are using an outdated browser.
Please upgrade your browser
and improve your visit to our site.
Skip Navigation

Should America Go To Durban Ii?

Anyone who thinks so is a fool.  Or a knave.    

Durban II Alert

Just Released: Alarming UN Durban II Document

A Declaration of War by Islamic States
On Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms

Durban II Draft Targets Israel, Free Speech, Counter-Terrorism Efforts

The UN has just released the latest draft of what is being planned for the outcome of the Durban II Conference. It is a product of behind-the-scenes negotiations. It is nothing short of a declaration of war against modern human rights and fundamental freedoms by Islamic states.

Durban II is now the staging ground for an all-out assault on universal values in the name of the defamation of Islam and the demonization of Israel.

Every state genuinely committed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights should refuse to lend any legitimacy to this global campaign to hijack first principles - and stay away from Durban II.

The UN continues to negotiate the Durban II "outcome document" in behind-the-scenes consultations. The closed-door meetings are being conducted in between the sessions that are open to the public. The last public session was in October 2008 and the next will take place in late January 2009. The so-called "Intersessional open-ended intergovernmental working group to continue and finalize the process of negotiations on and drafting of the outcome document," is operating through Yuri Boychenko of Russia, the "Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group."

The working group has now revealed the current state-of-play of the Durban II outcome document. Its latest formulation has an opening explanation which claims to "preserve" "all themes and messages" of Durban II and to "remove" from the previous draft any provision "weakening" Durban I's Declaration and Programme of Action.

The "themes and messages" of Durban II, considered as strengthening the UN's "anti-racism" program feature:
    1.Demonizing Israel 2.Thwarting the war to end terrorism 3.Limiting freedom of expression 4.Creating the Islamic victim

In addition to the new threats posed by Durban II, the Durban II draft begins: "Reaffirms the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action" in its entirety and the need to eradicate all manifestations of racism..." [emphasis added]

This statement, while seemingly innocuous, accomplishes two things.
(a) The Durban I Declaration asserts that Palestinians are victims of Israeli racism. This is the only country-specific accusation in a manifesto purporting to address international racism and xenophobia. Regardless of the quantity of new vitriol in Durban II's final product, therefore, it will "reaffirm" the mantra of Israeli racism.
(b) At the end of the Durban I conference, a number of states voiced specific reservations to parts of the Declaration. For example, Canada specifically rejected the parts of the document relating to Israel. By reaffirming the Durban Declaration "in its entirety" all those reservations are intended to be erased.

Some specifics of the "themes and messages" of Durban II:

1. Demonizing Israel

The Durban II draft has only one section dedicated to naming only one country as racist - Israel.

It is an entire section called the "Middle East" which includes:
  • "Expresses deep concern at the practices of racial discrimination against the Palestinian people as well as other inhabitants of the Arab occupied territories"
  • "...the Palestinian people...have been subjected to