Reports of Durban II draft revisions are somwhate over-optimistic
http://zionism-israel.com/israel_news/2009/03/reports-of-durban-ii-draft-revisions.htmlCrucially, the revised text still begins by reaffirming the Durban Declaration and Program of Action (DDPA), the document adopted at the U.N.'s first world racism conference in Durban, South Africa in 2001.
When the State Department announced late last month that the U.S. would not attend the Durban Review Conference ("Durban II") in Geneva, it left the door open to reverse that decision.
For the U.S. to attend, it said, the 2009 document would have to meet specific criteria, including that it must "not reaffirm in toto the flawed 2001 Durban Declaration and Program of Action," and that "it must not single out any one country or conflict."
A key point of contention in the DDPA is its singling out of Israel: While references to other country-specific situations were avoided, the "Palestinian people under foreign occupation" were identified as "victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance."
The U.S. and Israel walked out of the 2001 conference in protest. In the run up to Durban II, Canada and Israel said they would not attend, and the U.S., Italy and Australia said they too would not take part unless the wording of the text was altered significantly.
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