Durban Watch

EYEontheUN ALERT - October 10, 2007

The UN Human Rights Council

Moves Preparations for Durban II Forward

and

Pushes Follow-up of Durban I

Planning for Durban II moves to the General Assembly. Heading the pro-Durban II team will be Libyan Ambassador Najat al-Hajjaji.* The UN has pre-approved a bill of $8,400 for a 15-minute presentation of a report already distributed in writing. 22% of the bill is being handed to American taxpayers.

(1) The Human Rights Council decided by consensus to submit the report of the Durban Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) to the General Assembly. The intention is to seek the General Assembly's approval for their Durban II plans - and the funds that will follow.

(2) The Human Rights Council also decided on September 28, 2007 to send the Chairperson of the Preparatory Committee for Durban II - "human rights" authority figure Libyan Ambassador Najat al-Hajjaji - to present the report to the General Assembly in person.

Her assignment? To tell the General Assembly about the "progress made in preparation for the 2009 Conference". And then -- the Council "looks forward to the United Nations General Assembly providing political guidance to ensure a smooth and successful Conference" - ie. applause and money.

The Council resolution was adopted only after a vote which saw every Council member from the Western European and Others Group (WEOG) vote against: 33 in favor, 10 against, and three abstentions.

In favour (33): Angola, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Uruguay and Zambia.

Against (10): Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

Abstentions (3): Japan, Republic of Korea and Ukraine.

(3) The cost of the Libyan Chairperson of the Durban PrepCom reporting to the General Assembly - approximately a 15-minute presentation - was announced by the UN Secretariat to be $8,400.

The 33 states voting in favor of spending $8,400 for the Libyan Ambassador to present her 15-minute report (which has already been distributed in writing) pay just 9% of the UN's total regular budget. 22% of the $8,400 will be borne by American taxpayers.

(4) The Human Rights Council adopted two more resolutions under the umbrella of "Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia And Related Forms Of Intolerance: Follow-up to and Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action."

(a) The first resolution was on the "Elaboration of international complementary standards to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination." The resolution kicks off the start of the so-called Ad Hoc Committee of the Human Rights Council on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards. This is UN-eze for the latest effort by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to undermine the universal application of rights and freedoms and the rights and freedoms upon which the UN was built - like freedom of expression and actual religious and racial tolerance. The UN is notorious for taking principles and inverting them to mean the opposite of their original purpose. "Complementary standards" is the UN way of describing standards incompatible with existing standards - like the ones that already say "States Parties to the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination condemn racial discrimination" and "undertake to engage in no act or practice of racial discrimination." That isn't clear enough for the OIC, hell bent on eradicating freedom of expression and using wild allegations of Islamophobia to do it.

This resolution is another example of the havoc wreaked by Durban I on the genuine protection of rights and freedoms. It says in part:

"Recalling its decision 3/103 of 8 December 2006, by which, heeding the decision and instruction of the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, it decided to establish the Ad Hoc Committee of the Human Rights Council on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards, with the mandate to elaborate, as a matter of priority and necessity, complementary standards in the form of either a convention or additional protocol(s) to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, filling the existing gaps in the Convention, and also providing new normative standards aimed at combating all forms of contemporary racism, including incitement to racial and religious hatred."

This "anti-racism" strategy of some of the worst racists on earth, was adopted over the objection of every Council member from the Western European and Others (WEOG) regional group. 32 in favor, 10 against, 4 abstentions.

In favour (32): Angola, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Zambia.

Against (10): Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

Abstentions (4): Japan, Republic of Korea, Ukraine and Uruguay.

(b) The second resolution entitled "from rhetoric to reality: a global call for concrete action against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance" was about as unreal as the UN gets. The only concrete actions likely to emerge from its adoption are racial strife, intolerance and violence in the name of religion. The Human Rights Council decided to change the name of the "Anti-Discrimination Unit" in the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to "The Anti-Racial Discrimination Unit" "so as to ensure that its operational activities shall focus exclusively on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance" - meaning the focus of the Unit must now be on allegations of Islamophobia.

This resolution is yet another example of Durban I's devastation. It reads in part:

"Heeding the provisions of paragraphs 98 to 106 of the Durban Declaration relating to the recognition and apology for slavery, slave trade and colonialism, which are necessary for the healing and closure of the tragic legacies of these darkest chapters in human history..."

Translation of the UN-eze: Point the finger toward present day democracies and away from the dark chapters being written right now in Iran, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe....etc. Or as Sameh Shoukry (Egypt), speaking on behalf of Members of the African Group, put it: "all states have fallen behind in their commitments made at the Durban Conference. The resolution calls for past victims of racism to be recognized." And why not? Keep talking about past victims and today's victims move off the radar screen.

It is well to remember that EU members enjoyed every minute of Durban I, especially after the U.S. and Israel walked out in disgust, and have supported Durban "follow-up" ever since. So it was especially pitiful to witness the whimpering of the EU at the Council. Andrej Logar (Slovenia) speaking on behalf of the EU, said "it was regrettable that the draft implied that racism was only present in some parts of the world and seemed to establish a hierarchy between victims of racism, racial intolerance and xenophobia. The European Union also opposed attempts to interfere with the management work of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights by attempting to refocus and rename a unit under the Office's remit."

Too little, too late.

The resolution was adopted over the objection of every Council member from the Western European and Others (WEOG) regional group. 28 in favor, 13 against, 5 abstentions.

In favour (28): Angola, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Zambia.

Against (13): Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Republic of Korea, Romania, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine and United Kingdom.

Abstentions (5): Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay.

DURBAN II...ANOTHER STEP CLOSER.

* Editor's Note: Libyan Ambassador Najat al-Hajjaji did not come to the General Assembly. Her speech was delivered by Glaudine J. Mtshali, a Vice Chairperson of the Preparatory Committee for the Durban Review Conference from South Africa.