The Jewish Chronicle

Durban 2: the background

April 21, 2009 11:04
Demonstrators in Geneva at a rally in Geneva organised by StandWithUs, an international education organisation
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Eight years ago in Durban, South Africa, the United Nations held its third World Conference on Racism.

An event aimed at combating racism around the world turned into a hate-fest against Israel. Thousands of mostly local Muslims demonstrated outside, waving placards saying “Sharon is Palestine’s Hitler” and “Zionism equals apartheid racism”.

The late Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat occupied the spot taken this week by Iranian President Ahmadinejad and denounced Israel in similar terms. There was also a failed attempt to reintroduce the “Zionism equals racism” UN resolution of 1975 that was repealed in 1991. The mood was virulently anti-Israeli and the final document called for, among other things, the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes.

When the UN decided in 2006 that it would convene a review of the Durban conference, known colloquially as Durban II, to review what had happened since the first one, Israel said it would not take part. As it became clear that there would be another battle over the wording of the final document – put together before the conference because there is not enough time to agree it during the event’s five days – other nations also announced they would boycott the event, including Canada. America said it would not attend unless the final document was changed and decided to withdraw when the 2009 document endorsed that of 2001, with all its controversial components.

Since then they have been joined by the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand and others.

Whatever intentions the UN and its secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon might have had on Monday morning when the conference opened, they were scuppered when the president of Iran took the podium.