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Last update - 02:38 20/04/2009
Obama: Durban II risks 'hypocritical' Israel hatred
By Cnaan Liphshiz, Haaretz Correspondent, and News Agencies
Tags: Israel News, Netherlands 

Click here for more about the Durban II conference

U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday said that the United States had decided to boycott a United Nations conference on racism because the draft for the summit risked declaring "hypocritical allegations" against Israel.

"I would love to be involved in a useful conference that addressed continuing issues of racism and discrimination around the globe," Obama said in Trinidad on Sunday after attending the Summit of the Americas.
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But he said the language of the UN's draft declaration "raised a whole set of objectionable provisions" and risked a reprise of the 2001 predecessor summit in Durban, "which became a session through which folks expressed antagonism toward Israel in ways that were often times completely hypocritical and counterproductive."

The Obama administration announced Saturday that it would boycott the conference, scheduled to begin on Monday in Geneva, due to language about Israel and the West in the meeting's final document.

"We expressed in the run-up to this conference our concerns that if you adopted all of the language from 2001, that's not something we can sign up for," Obama said on Sunday. "Our participation would have involved putting our imprimatur on something we just didn't believe in."

Concern is high that the April 20 to 25 conference in Geneva may descend into heated debate over Israel that marred the last such gathering eight years ago, especially since Iran's hardline president - who has called for Israel's destruction - will attend.

The United Nations said it organized the forum to help heal the wounds from its last such conference, in Durban, South Africa. The United States and Israel walked out of the 2001 conference after Arab states sought to define Zionism as racist.

Lieberman: Ahmadinejad invite shows true character of Durban II

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Sunday that the invitation Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak at the upcoming summit Geneva proves the "goal and character" of the controversial event.

"An international convention that invites a racist such as Ahmadinejad, - who preaches the extermination of the State of Israel day and night - and which allows him to make a central speech, demonstrates both its goal and its character," Lieberman said of the so-called Durban II convention.

Ahmadinejad - who has repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel and denied the Holocaust - is slated to speak on the first day of the conference. He is also due to meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, officials of various international organizations in Geneva, and Swiss officials and business executives.

Lieberman added that Israel could not ignore that a Holocaust-denier has been invited to take part in a convention taking place on the very same day that the Jewish people commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day to remember the six million Jews murdered in Europe by Nazi Germany and its accomplices.

In Teheran on Sunday, Ahmedinejad in a televised speech commented
on the controversy, saying "it is clear that the Zionists [Israel]
and their backers will undertake everything possible so that the
voices of those people suppressed [by Israel] will be silenced."

The Iranian leader also charged that the "Zionists control an important
part of the politics in the U.S. and Europe and used this influence,
especially in the media, to force their demands, which are nothing
more than the plundering of nations, onto the world."

EU hopes to reach common stance on Durban participation

The European Union will meet late on Sunday to determine a common position on whether to send delegations to Geneva. Breaking ranks with key Western nations, Britain has said it would take part in the meeting but without a high-level official.

"It is the intention of the government to attend the conference," a British foreign office spokesperson told Haaretz. "We'll have our ambassador to the UN in Geneva leading our delegation."

The British foreign office official said London would actively lobby the conference participants to include language in the final draft statement condemning anti-Semitism as well as promoting the remembrance of the Holocaust.

Australia, Germany and the Netherlands on Sunday joined Canada, Italy and the U.S. in boycotting the conference.

Early Monday, New Zealand announced it would not take part in the summit, which it fears could descend into the same rancor as its predecessor, said Foreign Minister Murray McCully.

"I was determined that New Zealand's participation in the review conference would be on the basis of a draft outcome document that did not endorse the 2001 declaration and which responsibly and productively addressed racism," he said in a statement.

"While combating racism and related intolerance is a cause to which New Zealand attaches the highest importance, the review conference in Geneva is not likely to advance the cause of race relations at the international level," McCully added.

On Sunday, the Dutch government said in a statement that it had decided to boycott because it felt the summit's agenda would be manipulated to advance untoward ends.

"The conference against racism is too important to allow it to be abused for political purposes and attacks against the West," Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said.

In his statement, Verhagen said the draft for the conference represents a "wasted opportunity" to address human rights violations by countries and organizations involved in discrimination on sexual, religious and racial biases.

"The conference places Israel as the only defendant," said Verhagen, who is largely seen as a stanch supporter of Israel, a position for which he has often come under criticism in Holland - even by prominent members of his own party.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said his country had already expressed strong concerns when the 2001 Declaration "singled out Israel and the Middle East."

"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," Smith said.

Immediately after the U.S. boycott was announced, Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said the group was deeply dismayed by the decision.

"This decision is inconsistent with the administration's policy of engaging with those we agree with and those we disagree with," she said.

"By boycotting Durban, the U.S. is making it more difficult for it to play a leadership role on UN Human Rights Council as it states it plans to do. This is a missed opportunity, plain and simple."

Hours earlier, Human Rights Watch appealed for the U.S. to go, saying it
should stand with the victims of racism.

'U.S. is missing an opportunity to protect human rights'

Juliette de Rivero of Human Rights Watch said that without Washington there, the meeting could lack diplomatic gravitas.

"For us it's extremely disappointing and it's a missed opportunity, really, for the United States," she said.

"If the U.S. fails to participate, it will disappoint many who invested hope in the Obama administration's commitment to engage internationally to protect human rights."

Several European Union members also share U.S. reservations about the possibility that the conference, which Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will address on Monday, will be dominated by criticism of Israel.

Israel's envoy to the UN in Geneva Aharon Leshno-Yaar told Israel Radio on Sunday that by hosting Ahmadinejad, Switzerland would in "a shameful way" be ingratiating itself with a Holocaust denier and an Israel-hater.

Meanwhile a Vatican statement said Pope Benedict XVI urged "decisive and concrete action at the national and international level" in order to eradicate every form of racism and disadvantage.

Wishing it every success, he said the Geneva conference was an important step towards this, and should be held in a spirit of dialogue aimed at respect for human dignity and human rights.

Related articles:
  • 'Swiss leader's offer to meet Ahmadinejad compounds crime with a sin'
  • 'No reason to meet pathological Holocaust denier'
  • Final Durban II text omits references to Israel and Zionism
  • Anshel Pfeffer / What Demjanjuk, Durban II sagas say about Israel
  • Iranian presidential candidate: Ahmadinejad`s Holocaust comments are `irrelevant`
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      1.   I hope my country will not show up either. 13:50  |  Hildi 19/04/09
      2.   Friends 14:21  |  D 19/04/09
      3.   Is it possible.. 14:38  |  Stem Cell 19/04/09
      4.   Every decent European country should boycott it. 14:43  |  Krystal 19/04/09
      5.   Boycot 14:58  |  Racists` observer 19/04/09
      6.   Durban II 15:03  |  The Teacher/Instruct 19/04/09
      7.   Does anyone believe there will be less "Israel bashing"..... 15:18  |  Swiss (Dino) 19/04/09
      8.   HUMAN RIGHTS 15:20  |  Brant 19/04/09
      9.   Rep Barbara Lee you are disgrace 15:25  |  Karl 19/04/09
      10.   God bless Australia 15:33  |  lee 19/04/09
      11.   Thank Goodness 15:36  |  Lynn 19/04/09
      12.   Mark B...congratulations 15:42  |  Lynn 19/04/09
      13.   UK synonimous to Appeasement 15:47  |  Mongo 19/04/09
      14.   Lots of luck trying to condemn anti-semitism, Britain 15:50  |  Conroy 19/04/09
      15.   danke hildi!!! and what is the point of this conference? 15:53  |  joanne from ohio 19/04/09
      16.   Kol ha kavod Maxime Verhagen! 15:57  |  Tulip 19/04/09
      17.   Kudoos to the British! 15:58  |  Objective reader 19/04/09
      18.   UK is an enemy of Israel 16:09  |  Humble Jew 19/04/09
      19.   A CLEAR PROOF 16:10  |  indrajaya 19/04/09
      20.   Let`s wait and see 16:12  |  PARIS 19/04/09
      21.   Britain against U.S. 16:14  |  The Teacher/Instruct 19/04/09
      22.   I understand the UK 16:26  |  jerryK 19/04/09
      23.   no wonder? 16:29  |  Sam 19/04/09
      24.   Despite Britain, a huge blow to the Israel-haters 16:32  |  The Prophet 19/04/09
      25.   Britain is still Fair Minded 16:33  |  gly 19/04/09
      26.   Poor UK cowards! You are showing your fear of you know who, eh? 16:41  |  S 19/04/09
      27.   Thank you my Australian government 16:52  |  Rafael of Sydney 19/04/09
      28.   Britian goes to Durban .... 16:56  |  DT 19/04/09
      29.   Why would they? 17:00  |  Nick 19/04/09
      30.   5 nations out of entire world will boycott? 17:35  |  Daniel 19/04/09
      31.   Why would UK appease the Arabs???? 17:41  |  r 19/04/09
      32.   The stiff upper lip. 17:54  |  Stephen. 19/04/09
      33.   hildi 17:54  |  scallywag 19/04/09
      34.   objective reader 17:58  |  scallywag 19/04/09
      35.   British eccentricity vs Muslim ruse: fun to follow 18:09  |  17 19/04/09
      36.   British Cowards 18:09  |  MichaelF 19/04/09
      37.   #4 Mongo. Steady there old chap. 18:12  |  H 19/04/09
      38.   Good on you Holland 18:12  |  Jan 19/04/09
      39.   #7 - Unobjective Reader 18:12  |  MichaelF 19/04/09
      40.   Canadian Boycott 18:17  |  The Objective One 19/04/09
      41.   Verhagen 18:23  |  Sam 19/04/09
      42.   objective reader 18:25  |  scallywag 19/04/09
      43.   what else is new 18:27  |  zionist forever 19/04/09
      44.   ashamed to be British 18:32  |  Sean 19/04/09
      45.   Britain should HEED it`s own Suggestions 18:37  |  david 19/04/09
      46.   SAM IN HOLLAND 18:37  |  Brant 19/04/09
      47.   #4 Mongo 18:42  |  Chris Linthwaite 19/04/09
      48.   For The Teacher/Instruct and...blighty??not any more. 18:45  |  KATHY 19/04/09
      49.   To be fair, Britain didn`t have much choice. 18:46  |  flyingdoc57 19/04/09
      50.   hildi 18:46  |  scallywag 19/04/09
      51.   Obama: "To be disengaged is to be without a voice" 18:48  |  Natallie Durson 19/04/09
      52.   Good for Britain.. 18:49  |  Chris 19/04/09
      53.   Oh Tulip yes indeed:Kol ha Kavod To The Duch ,; 18:50  |  KATHY 19/04/09
      54.   Not Britain`s Finest Hour 18:51  |  chilawyer 19/04/09
      55.   To Sean - don`t be so soft 18:51  |  Welshman 19/04/09
      56.   British Bravery 18:51  |  Sam 19/04/09
      57.   Proud to be British 18:53  |  Adam 19/04/09
      58.   #5 Daniel...count us in! 19:01  |  Franco 19/04/09
      59.   when arabs/muslims address their racist stance against women and 19:12  |  what a joke 19/04/09
      60.   In short flyingdoc57, #27 Simply pandering to. 19:17  |  KATHY 19/04/09
      61.   UK shamefully embraces jew killers convention 19:31  |  bernard ross 19/04/09
      62.   The record of Israel is that of a rogue regime 19:39  |  Joe 19/04/09
      63.   Tomy friend "17" The British have long forgotten to be eccentric" 19:48  |  Kathy 19/04/09
      64.   Durson: disappointed US President is not racist? 19:56  |  Israeli citizen 19/04/09
      65.   Where are your Churchills, Britain? 19:58  |  Israeli citizen 19/04/09
      66.   Liberman: the surprise: his voice is a voice, alive and well 19:58  |  Israeli citizen 19/04/09
      67.   Swizerland "neutral"? A bad joke. 19:59  |  Israeli citizen 19/04/09
      68.   "missed opportunity" 20:09  |  tiki 19/04/09
      69.   Pots,Kettles: black, really black, grey black 20:13  |  Eric Wilson 19/04/09
      70.   Austria should be ashamed 20:37  |  Elly 19/04/09
      71.   Coming from Lieberman 20:39  |  Michael 19/04/09
      72.   It would have been better had the UK.... 20:39  |  Barry 19/04/09
      73.   Londonstan must go. No choice 20:42  |  Liliane 19/04/09
      74.   Lieberman is right on the mark when it comes to Ahmadinejad and.. 20:48  |  Jehudah 19/04/09
      75.   Germany Opts Out Too 20:58  |  Jeff Northridge 19/04/09
      76.   `...the plundering of nations...` 21:00  |  Ian 19/04/09
      77.   # 52 Israeli citizen - Racism is merely an opinion 21:09  |  Natallie Durson 19/04/09
      78.   durban 21:12  |  zoe 19/04/09
      79.   Killing 400 children in one invasion shows true character of Isra 21:30  |  Kit 19/04/09
      80.   #41 Abondoning the big brother Kathy 21:32  |  Ardi 19/04/09
      81.   I am not proud of my country 21:38  |  fritz t. 19/04/09
      82.   To Swiss (Dino # 5). Bash away, bigot. 21:46  |  flyingdoc57 19/04/09
      83.   Answer to Durson on Lieberman: pas tout est semblant 21:46  |  Israeli citizen 19/04/09
      84.   #69 completely agree 21:47  |  Welshman 19/04/09
      85.   Nothing more meaningless than a UN conference 21:47  |  Voice of Reason 19/04/09
      86.   To Kit (# 77). Out of ammo. 21:49  |  flyingdoc57 19/04/09
      87.   Argumentum ad hominem: a racist cannot oppose racism 21:50  |  Israeli citizen 19/04/09
      88.   `Hyprocritical` is the right word to use 21:51  |  Biff McCensie 19/04/09
      89.   Barbara Lee is a hypocrite 22:05  |  IW 19/04/09
      90.   Obama`s voice. 22:09  |  Evan of Oz 19/04/09
      91.   I add my voice of support against Durban 22:10  |  Samuel Prime 19/04/09
      92.   Hey Austrian Ardi..Britain has abandoned here liability to. 22:12  |  KATHY 19/04/09
      93.   If Lieberman opposes this racism, Vive Lieberman! 22:15  |  Israeli citizen 19/04/09
      94.   Poor Welchman #84 Still held Captive By The British eh? 22:16  |  Whiskey 19/04/09
      95.   # 67 Switzerland Neutral 22:17  |  Evan of Oz 19/04/09
      96.   You see Zoe When What I said in one of the forums about Greece? 22:22  |  Whiskey 19/04/09
      97.   #57. Adam. Guess you have forgotten the.... 22:24  |  Stephen. 19/04/09
      98.   When racism takes Geneva in its hands: "I own you" 22:29  |  Israeli citizen 19/04/09
      99.   #84 welshman says the mirror should be held up in 22:30  |  v hardman 19/04/09
      100.   Stockholm stem cell 22:37  |  x-ray 19/04/09
      101.   say whiskey --the wel--s--hman is british and is not 00:49  |  Cecil 20/04/09
      102.   Would Ahmadinejad meet Zionist Lieberman ? 00:51  |  Joseph.E 20/04/09
      103.   Switzerland is neutral 01:58  |  Michael 20/04/09
      104.   wh is Liberman? 02:02  |  eric 20/04/09
      105.   Running scared...All states commit crimes 03:13  |  Ant 20/04/09
      106.   I am swiss 03:24  |  Peter 20/04/09
      107.   Racism and the people who want to be charge 03:31  |  MB 20/04/09
      108.   Boycotting Racist Conference a start to fight racism 03:34  |  Baruch Gold 20/04/09
      109.   Third World countries will come 06:28  |  MMM 20/04/09
      110.   The countries who will not come....will be blessed more 06:29  |  MMM 20/04/09
      111.   crime against humanity definition 07:27  |  Chomsky lover 20/04/09
      112.   Re #3 07:28  |  RME 20/04/09
      113.   Ant says that words don`t hurt? 07:34  |  Marek 20/04/09
      114.   A War of Words 07:42  |  Sophie 20/04/09
      115.   Kit-=-why don`t you protest the murder of Jewish children 07:46  |  Doubtful 20/04/09
      116.   A sad day for the UK 07:54  |  Morris Valentine 20/04/09
      117.   I am pleased to announce!!! 08:40  |  Adrian de Klerk 20/04/09
      118.   #79 Kit on her hero AchMADindahead 09:13  |  Ari ben Yisrael 20/04/09
      119.   Well said:hypocritical 09:22  |  dani.a 20/04/09
      120.   Bibi Gas Up The Jets 09:30  |  Yosemite 20/04/09
      121.   The racism of the Arabs not addressed 11:05  |  JO 20/04/09
      122.   81 I am like you 13:05  |  John , Canadian 20/04/09
      123.   Durban is show how "hypocritical" the durban participants are 18:49  |  ks 20/04/09
      124.   Remember Neville Chamberlin? 19:41  |  a wandering Jew 20/04/09
      125.   # 77 19:45  |  udi 20/04/09
      126.   Say Cecil #101 Here is my Reply.. 20:03  |  Whiskey 20/04/09
      127.   Sophie..War of Words..And all are getting in a bother. 20:09  |  KATHY 20/04/09
      128.   Hey Welshman @55 WRONG..THEY ARE SENDING A MEMBER OF THE UN.. 20:13  |  Whiskey 20/04/09
      129.   To #101 A Reply 22:35  |  Whiskey 20/04/09
      130.   Ahmedinejad should be tried for hate speech 23:17  |  siddharth 20/04/09
      131.   #111 Firstly Chomsky is a first Class Traitor,and we equally many 23:52  |  JUST ME 20/04/09
      132.   It`s morally wrong to boycott the truth... 21:35  |  Dutch 21/04/09
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