DURBAN III
Countries that have supported human rights, and rejected Durban III.
Copy the text below and send it to your PM.
As a supporter of the true principles of human rights and equality, I urge (COUNTRY NAME) to oppose the U.N.’s “Durban 3” gathering next year in New York.
The U.N. resolution calls for a summit of world leaders on September 21, 2011, “to commemorate the Tenth Anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration.” The event would be jam-packed with “an opening plenary,” “consecutive round tables,” “thematic panels,” a “closing plenary meeting,” culminating in a “political declaration” — all in celebration of the 2001 “World Conference of Racism” held in Durban, South Africa, which scapegoated America, the West, and Israel.
In its statement, the U.S. said it was “deeply troubled by the choice of time and venue for the 10th anniversary commemorative event. Just days earlier, we will have honored the victims of 9/11, whose loved ones will be marking a solemn 10-year anniversary for them and the entire nation. It will be an especially sensitive time for the people of New York and a repeat of the vitriol sadly experienced at past Durban-related events risks undermining the relationship we have worked hard to strengthen over the past few years between the United States and the UN.”
On Dec. 24, 2010, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said that “The United States today voted against a UN resolution to hold a 10th anniversary of the Durban Declaration meeting in New York in September 2011. We voted no because the Durban Declaration process has included ugly displays of intolerance and anti-Semitism, and we do not want to see that commemorated.”
As you know, the 2001 Durban conference not only failed to combat racism—it actually incited racism. Durban became the worst international manifestation of anti-Semitism in the post-war period.
The 2001 declaration targeted Israel as an alleged perpetrator of racism, singling out “the plight of Palestinians under foreign occupation.”
Inflammatory speeches were ubiquitous. PLO chief Yasser Arafat described the “ugliness” of “Israeli racist policies and practices against the Palestinian people.” Cuban president Fidel Castro spoke of “the dreadful genocide perpetrated, at this very moment, against our Palestinian brothers.”
What’s worse, the U.N.’s Durban 3 resolution specifically invites non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to “organize and support” various “high visibility initiatives… to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration.”
This is alarming given that the U.N.-sponsored NGO Forum of the 2001 conference was entirely dominated by anti-Western, anti-Israel extremists. They formally declared Israel a “racist apartheid state” guilty of “genocide.” On the streets of Durban, a Palestinian-led march saw thousands waving placards saying, “Hitler Should Have Finished the Job.” Others handed out copies of the notorious anti-Jewish tract, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” Jewish human rights activists at Durban were physically intimidated and threatened. Students were traumatized.
(COUNTRY NAME) should not bestow the appearance of moral authority on a platform that will be dominated by racist murderers like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Libyan dictator Moammar Qaddafi.
Accordingly, to truly support the principles of human rights and anti-racism, I urge (COUNTRY NAME) to oppose the U.N.’s “Durban 3″ conference.
Yours Sincerely,
(NAME)
