Last update - 00:00 18/03/2007
A sympathetic ear at the UN
By Natan Lerner
A few days ago Haaretz reported that there is satisfaction in the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem with discussions held at the United Nations in Geneva on the subject of Israel's policies toward its minorities. This was in the wake of the most recent report submitted by the Israeli government on the subject. Israel, like the other 172 countries that have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, must submit reports periodically to the committee.
The Foreign Ministry had anticipated that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), in its conclusions, would criticize various aspects of government policy. However, the director of the ministry's human rights department pointed out that the members of the CERD actually complimented Israel for the steps it has taken to reduce the gaps between its Jewish majority and Arab minority.
This is a positive development, both because other international organizations frequently lack objectivity where Israel is concerned, and because senior officials in government ministries here are not in the habit of praising the activities of international organizations. The importance of the positive discourse between Israel and the UN and other international institutions is clear to everyone, particularly in light of the generally shaky situation of Israel's international relations.
The subject has implications not only for Israel, but for Jewish communities worldwide as well. For example, it is interesting to note a problem that the CERD discussed recently. In 2000, several dozen members of the Norwegian organization Bootboys marched in an Oslo suburb in memory of Nazi leader Rudolf Hess. During the course of the event, the group's leader, Terje Sjolie, said that Communists, Jew-lovers and immigrants "rape and murder Norwegians, while the country is being destroyed by the Jews." He mentioned "our beloved ones, the Fuehrer Adolf Hitler and Rudolf Hess," and promised that the marchers would follow in their footsteps.
In the wake of complaints, Sjolie was convicted of incitement, but the Supreme Court in Norway overturned the conviction, ruling that the prohibition against activity by Nazi organizations does not accord with the right to freedom of expression. In response, representatives of Jewish communities and an anti-racism organization filed a complaint with the CERD, based on an article of the racism convention that allows individuals or groups to file complaints about acts that violate its terms. The authors of the complaint reported, among other things, that in the wake of the march the number of violent acts in Norway increased, including the murder of a young man who was the son of a Ghanaian father and a Norwegian mother.
In the writ of defense that it submitted, Norway argued that the complainants had no standing before the committee, since, it claimed, they were not direct victims of the Nazis. Norway further argued that every country can decide how it will balance among various rights, and that the commitment of the convention's signatories to forbid racial incitement does not have to undermine freedom of expression.
In August 2005, the committee issued its final decision, ruling that the acts of the demonstrators can be considered racist according to the definition of the convention, that they constitute incitement to discrimination and violence, and that the prohibitions in the convention accord with the freedom of expression guaranteed by Norwegian law. The committee ruled that Norway must take steps to ensure that such acts and statements are not protected by the right of free speech. The CERD ruled that Norway must report within six months on its steps to meet its international commitments stemming from its signature on the convention.
The committee's decision is proof of the value - in terms of both substance and public relations - of international protection of the right of every person to be free from the danger of persecution and incitement due to religion or origin. In this case, the functioning of the CERD attests to its seriousness and objectivity, and also proves that it is possible to exploit international legislation and inter-state institutions in the struggle against injustices such as racism and anti-Semitism.
The writer teaches international law at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center.