|
In September 2001, the United Nations held an international conference in Durban, South Africa, with the declared purpose of combating racism. Tragically, the conference and its noble causes were hijacked by an organized campaign of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel hatred, causing the US and Israel to walk out. Other democracies, UN officials and human rights leaders denounced the ugly bigotry.
On April 20-24, 2009 in Geneva, the UN will host a follow-up conference with the declared purpose of evaluating progress on the commitments reached at Durban in 2001. Headed by Libya, the preparations for the Durban Review Conference, also known as Durban II, already show signs of following in the steps of its discredited predecessor.
This regularly updated page offers key information and analysis from the original 2001 conference and its 2009 sequel.
Preparing for Durban II
General
Regional Preparatory Meetings
Abuja, Nigeria (August 24-26, 2009): UN website
Brasilia (June 17-19, 2009): Outcome declaration (spanish)
Durban I: What Went Wrong?
Official Governmental and Non-Governmental Declarations
Eyewitness Accounts and Analysis
- Tom Lantos, The Durban Debacle: An Insider's View of the World Racism Conference at Durban, The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, Vol. 26.1, Winter/Spring 2002.
- Joelle Fiss, The Durban Diaries. Dramatic account from daily diary of a young European student activist at the 2001 conference.
- Irwin Cotler, Durban's Troubling Legacy One Year Later: Twisting the Cause of International Human Rights Against the Jewish People, Post-Holocaust and Anti-Semitism, Vol. 2, No. 5, 20 August 2002.
- Irwin Cotler, The Disgrace of Durban — Five Years Later, National Post, September 12, 2006.
|
Material Distributed at the Conference
|
Flyer distributed at the 2001 Durban Conference. |
|
En français
