As the Durban II antiracism conference plenary sessions near conclusion, the U.S. delegation continues to attempt to change the agenda. The first conference elicited strong back lash from the United States and Israel, with Israel and some members of Congress encouraging the United States not to participate in this year’s events.
During a State Department briefing today, a spokesman said about the conference:
MR. DUGUID: The – I haven’t had a readout yet. Our group is there on the ground. It is made up of officials from our U.S.-UN – the U.S. Mission to the UN in Geneva as well as private partners in that. I don’t have a readout now. I do know that we remain concerned with the draft text and that we are working to try and get that text changed for the better, but I don’t have the full details for you at this point.
Meanwhile, the House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman released the following statement in support of current State Department initiaves regarding Durban II. Excerpts include:
Congressman Howard L. Berman, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today welcomed President Obama’s decision to launch a high-level diplomatic effort to restore a United Nations gathering to its original purpose of fighting racism, rather than allowing it to descend into a diplomatic disaster echoing a similar U.N. gathering eight years ago….
“The decision to engage in, rather than to withdraw from, the debate in Geneva is constructive,” Berman said. “It is critical that the United States regain its moral voice at the U.N. by jumping into the fray and stipulating clear redlines for re-focusing Durban II, including the removal of language in the Outcome Document attacking Israel or singling it out for criticism. We should continue challenging the status quo at the U.N. by re-engaging in and restructuring its human rights mechanisms in order to break the choke-hold that non-democratic states currently have on them.” ….
“At this late date it is unclear whether any last-ditch U.S. effort can make a difference in Geneva,” he said. “It could well be that the United States again will be placed in the position of having to walk away. But by standing up to those who are trying to hijack the proceedings, and by telling them that we refuse to accept outright anti-Semitism or an attempt to single out Israel in the context of a racism conference, we are reasserting our moral leadership in world affairs.”
