New boycotts hit anti-racism meet
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AFP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 20, 2009 00:00
GENEVA - New boycotts by Western nations raise concerns over the credibility of a UN conference in Geneva as Australia and the Netherlands also declare that they will boycott the meeting like the United States, Canada, and Israel amid fears that it will serve as a platform against Israel.
A U.N. conference on racism was hit by new boycotts by Western nations yesterday amid concerns that the meeting will serve as a platform against Israel, which called it a "tragic farce."
The outlook for Geneva conference, which is set to start today, was also thrown into doubt by the prospect of an opening day speech by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has stirred outrage by repeatedly calling the Holocaust a "myth."
Australia and the Netherlands joined the United States, Canada and Israel in boycotting the five-day Durban Review Conference, which is meant to take stock of progress in fighting racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance.
"Regrettably, we cannot be confident that the review conference will not again be used as a platform to air offensive views, including anti-Semitic views," Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said in a brief statement.
Most European Union nations were still mulling their presence in Geneva, diplomats said, but the Netherlands broke ranks yesterday and said it would not attend because it feared the event would be abused.
"The conference is too important for it to be abused for political ends and attacks on the West," Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said in a statement. "The Netherlands will not be a party to that."
Rights groups slam boycott
Calling the U.N. meeting a "tragic farce," Israeli foreign ministry spokeman Yossi Levy said: "Officially it is aimed at denouncing racism, but it has invited a Holocaust denier who has called for the destruction of Israel."
On Friday, negotiators for Western and Muslim states in Geneva had agreed on a draft declaration that they believed had ironed out the most controversial issues relating to religious discrimination, Israel and the Middle East.
But those efforts after months of controversy proved insufficient, leading to an even bigger walkout than the one by the United States and Israel at the landmark World Conference on Racism in Durban, South Africa in 2001.
U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood said that while significant progress had been made, the latest text still reaffirmed unacceptable parts of the 2001 declaration and infringed on freedom of speech.
"Therefore, with regret, the United States will not join the review conference," he said in a statement late on Saturday.
U.S.-based campaign group Human Rights Watch slammed the growing Western boycott. "These countries are turning their backs on the victims of racism and are gravely endangering the U.N.'s work against racism," HRW spokeswoman Juliette de Rivero said.
Meanwhile, other human rights groups yesterday challenged Ahmadinejad to eliminate severe discrimination in Iran.
The International Federation of Human Rights, or FIDH, the Baha'i International Community, or BIC and the Iranian League for Human Rights, or LDDHI said he must tackle discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities, women, and halt incitement to hatred.
"By coming to the Durban Review Conference, President Ahmadinejad signals a commitment to the conference's goals of eliminating all forms of discrimination and intolerance," said Diane Ala'i, the BIC's representative at the U.N. in Geneva.
"His first move on returning home, then, should be to address the severe discrimination and persecution that have flourished under his tenure," she added.
The outlook for Geneva conference, which is set to start today, was also thrown into doubt by the prospect of an opening day speech by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has stirred outrage by repeatedly calling the Holocaust a "myth."
Australia and the Netherlands joined the United States, Canada and Israel in boycotting the five-day Durban Review Conference, which is meant to take stock of progress in fighting racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance.
"Regrettably, we cannot be confident that the review conference will not again be used as a platform to air offensive views, including anti-Semitic views," Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said in a brief statement.
Most European Union nations were still mulling their presence in Geneva, diplomats said, but the Netherlands broke ranks yesterday and said it would not attend because it feared the event would be abused.
"The conference is too important for it to be abused for political ends and attacks on the West," Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said in a statement. "The Netherlands will not be a party to that."
Rights groups slam boycott
Calling the U.N. meeting a "tragic farce," Israeli foreign ministry spokeman Yossi Levy said: "Officially it is aimed at denouncing racism, but it has invited a Holocaust denier who has called for the destruction of Israel."
On Friday, negotiators for Western and Muslim states in Geneva had agreed on a draft declaration that they believed had ironed out the most controversial issues relating to religious discrimination, Israel and the Middle East.
But those efforts after months of controversy proved insufficient, leading to an even bigger walkout than the one by the United States and Israel at the landmark World Conference on Racism in Durban, South Africa in 2001.
U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood said that while significant progress had been made, the latest text still reaffirmed unacceptable parts of the 2001 declaration and infringed on freedom of speech.
"Therefore, with regret, the United States will not join the review conference," he said in a statement late on Saturday.
U.S.-based campaign group Human Rights Watch slammed the growing Western boycott. "These countries are turning their backs on the victims of racism and are gravely endangering the U.N.'s work against racism," HRW spokeswoman Juliette de Rivero said.
Meanwhile, other human rights groups yesterday challenged Ahmadinejad to eliminate severe discrimination in Iran.
The International Federation of Human Rights, or FIDH, the Baha'i International Community, or BIC and the Iranian League for Human Rights, or LDDHI said he must tackle discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities, women, and halt incitement to hatred.
"By coming to the Durban Review Conference, President Ahmadinejad signals a commitment to the conference's goals of eliminating all forms of discrimination and intolerance," said Diane Ala'i, the BIC's representative at the U.N. in Geneva.
"His first move on returning home, then, should be to address the severe discrimination and persecution that have flourished under his tenure," she added.