U.S. To Boycott UN Racism Conference

Source: "RACISM CONFERENCE: U.S. to Boycott U.N. Meeting," in the Nation Digest section, The Washington Post, April 19, 2009.

The Obama administration will, "with regret," boycott a U.N. conference on racism this week, the State Department said Saturday, because of objectionable language in the meeting's final document that could single out Israel for criticism and restrict free speech.

The decision came after weeks of internal debate and was likely to please Israel and Jewish groups that lobbied against U.S. participation.

But it upset human rights advocates and those who had hoped that President Obama would send an official delegation.

The administration had wanted to attend the April 20-25 meeting in Geneva, although it warned in late February that it would not go unless significant changes were made to the draft text.

The World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance is to be held in Durbin, South Africa from 31 August to 7 September, 2009.

The elements of the provisional agenda for this United Nations Conference are to be grouped under the following themes:

Theme 1: Sources, cause, forms and contemporary manifestations of racism, racial discrimination and related intolerance;

Theme 2: Victims of racism, racial discrimination and related intolerance;

Theme 3: Measures of prevention, education and protection aimed at the eradication of racism, racial discrimination and related intolerance at the national, regional and international levels;

Theme 4: Provision for effective remedies, recourses, redress, [compensatory] and other measures at the national, regional and international levels;

Theme 5: Strategies to achieve full and effective equality, including international cooperation and enhancement of the United Nations and other international mechanisms in combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia.