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Resources updated between Monday, September 12, 2011 and Sunday, September 18, 2011

September 17, 2011

September 16, 2011

September 15, 2011

Durban Redux Article

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

This article by Anne Bayefsky appears on The Weekly Standard.

The U.N. has quietly released the list of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that will be allowed to attend its "anti-racism" conference on September 22, 2011 in New York. All NGOs that requested credentials to attend the so-called "Durban III" conference were granted permission, except for four groups. Excluded are organizations from Denmark and Nepal that represent the Dalits (sometimes referred to as "outcasts" or "untouchables"), one little-known group dealing with human rights in Iraq, and the Swiss-based U.N. Watch, despite its close relations to the Obama administration and its support for U.S. membership on the U.N. Human Rights Council.

The U.N. General Assembly decided on June 13 that participation by NGOs in Durban III would be subject to the approval of every U.N. state – that is, approval from member states "on a no-objection basis." This policy gave the likes of Iran, Saudi Arabia, and all other intolerant and xenophobic nations decision making power to decide which organizations count as genuinely "active in the field of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related forms of intolerance" – the theoretical criteria for approval. The U.N. has not released the name (or names) of the countries that objected to these four NGOs.

NGOs that passed the "no objection" hurdle, and are now accredited to attend Durban III, include "North South XXI" – an organization closely linked to Libya's Muammar Qaddafi. In fact, according to the website of the "Al-Qaddafi International Prize for Human Rights," the North South organization is its primary associate. At U.N. Human Rights Council sessions, North South representatives generally spend their time attempting to tie Israel to "racism," "genocide," and "extermination." Another "anti-racism" NGO approved by the U.N. for participation in Durban III is the Mouvement contre le racism et pour l'amitié entre les peuples (MRAP). MRAP use their U.N. speeches to accuse Israel of "ethnic cleansing and apartheid."

The list of 88 NGOs that are permitted to attend is much smaller than many U.N. global conferences. By comparison, hundreds and even thousands of NGOs have been accredited to attend U.N. women's and child rights conferences. The veto power was not the main reason for the low number of NGOs attending; instead, many organizations very active in the fight against racism are profoundly disillusioned by the Durban agenda and are doubtful of U.N. bona fides.

Many Jewish organizations, which have annual U.N. passes and accreditation to the U.N. generally, decided to boycott Durban III in solidarity with Israel, the United States, Canada, and other countries that have already pulled out of the conference. These states believe the event will be a dangerous charade. After all, Durban III, according to the General Assembly itself, is specifically intended to "commemorate" the 10th anniversary of the notorious anti-Semitic hate fest that took place in South Africa in 2001.

Some NGOs also objected to the U.N. accreditation process for Durban III, which required NGOs to affirm their commitment to following-up the Durban Declaration. Applicants were required to respond to an item titled, "Concrete activities my organization been involved with in follow-up to the recommendations of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action include."

The Durban Declaration charges only Israel – one country among all 192 U.N. members – with racism and declares the Palestinians as "victims" of Israeli racism. The formula was intended to reincarnate the 1975 U.N. General Assembly resolution that declared Zionism, the self-determination of the Jewish people, to be a form of racism. Led by Holocaust survivor Congressman Tom Lantos, the United States and Israel walked out of the first Durban conference in disgust. So far ten countries, including the United States, have decided to boycott Durban III.

Participating countries will also be required to sign on to a new political declaration that will adopted at the conclusion of the conference on September 22. The terms of this new declaration were decided in backdoor meetings last Thursday and include the commitment to "reaffirm...the full and effective implementation of the Durban Declaration."

With the involvement of a select group of NGOs that include organizations working to encourage racism-rather than defeat it-Durban III has become an unmitigated travesty. The U.N.'s game of continuing to use Israel as a diversionary tactic – demonizing the Jewish state, while ignoring real victims around the world – has been exposed. World leaders who are serious about human rights, but who are still considering attending the conference, have some serious soul searching to do.

This article by Anne Bayefsky appears on Fox News.

According to the Jewish Chronicle in Britain, tomorrow the United Kingdom will officially become the 11th country to pull out of the U.N.'s "anti-racism" conference, which is scheduled to take place on September 22, in New York.

Known as "Durban III," the event is meant to attract world leaders en masse during the opening days of the U.N. General Assembly.

The Chronicle reports that British Prime Minister David Cameron has taken the decision because he does "not want the U.K. to be seen to celebrate the anniversary of an event associated with anti-semitism." Durban III is supposed to "commemorate" the 10th anniversary of the notorious anti-semitic hate fest that took place in South Africa in 2001.

The first Durban conference ended just three days before 9/11 and extremists from around the world were attracted to the U.N. event like bees to honey. The streets were filled with demonstrators carrying signs like "for the liberation of Quds, machine guns based upon faith and Islam must be used" and "the martyrs blood irrigates the tree of revolution in Palestine." Inside government part of Durban I, U.N. member states adopted a declaration charging Israel – and Israel alone among 192 nations – with racism and deciding Palestinians were "victims" of Israeli racism.

The U.S., led by Holocaust survivor Congressman Tom Lantos, and Israel walked out of the first Durban conference. Ten countries refused to attend Durban II which was held in Geneva in April 2009. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad opened the Durban II conference, and was the only head of state or government to participate. From the U.N.'s "anti-racism" podium, he disputed the veracity of the Holocaust, said "the word Zionism personifies racism," and described Zionists as people with "ugly faces."

This time, Ahmadinejad will be speaking at the U.N. on the same day as Durban III but addressing his remarks to the whole of the U.N. General Assembly. At the General Assembly last year, he claimed that the 9/11 attacks were an inside job "to save the Zionist regime."

The other ten countries refusing to have anything to do with this dangerous sham are Canada, Israel, United States, Czech Republic, Italy, The Netherlands, Australia, Germany, and Bulgaria.

Fortunes for Durban III champions, like U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, received one more credibility blow today. The UN has just circulated a list of NGOs allowed to participate in Durban III and it has red flags all over it.

Each UN member state was handed a veto over accreditation of any NGO that wished to attend. The U.N. list says four NGOs that applied for a permit, won't be allowed in: organizations from Denmark and Nepal that represent the Dalits (sometimes referred to as "outcasts" or "untouchables"), a little-known group dealing with human rights in Iraq, and the Swiss-based U.N. Watch, despite its close relations to the Obama administration and its support for U.S. membership on the UN Human Rights Council. The objecting states are not revealed.

But that's not all. The UN stamp of approval to attend the conference was awarded to an NGO with close ties to the Qaddafi regime – "North South XXI." According to the website of the "Al-Qaddafi International Prize for Human Rights," the North South XXI organization is its primary associate. North South U.N. representatives use their U.N. speaking slots, for example, to tie Israel to "racism," "genocide," and "extermination."

Another "anti-racism" NGO approved by the U.N. for participation in Durban III is the Mouvement contre le racism et pour l'amitié entre les peuples (MRAP), which has used its UN platform to accuse Israel of "ethnic cleansing and apartheid."

Britain's pullout will be a serious blow to the U.N. and Durban III's standing, and immediately raises the stakes for France in particular. The French can expect a serious hit to their moral stature on the world stage should they decide to stay without Britain or Germany.

September 13, 2011

September 12, 2011