PLO Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Ibrahim Khraishi has told the Jerusalem Post that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech attacking Israel “was not helpful at all… It was not balanced”. The Palestinian delegation had taken a decision “not to use Durban [Review] as a platform to attack [the existence of] Israel” and had [...]
Click here for full article and commentsMedia Reports
Ahmadinejad’s UN speech didn’t help
Thursday, April 30th, 2009The Ghosts of Geneva
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009Stephen Schwartz write in the Weekly Standard on the Durban Review Conference and the concept of Freedom. He addresses the issue of defamation of religion (excluded from the outcome document) and lack of values within the UN itself.
The fault in the UN he argues is what allows Iranian President Ahmadinejad to stand up and claim [...]
Tehran launches its custard pie strike
Sunday, April 26th, 2009Writing for the Sunday Times, Dominic Lawson says those who talked out on Ahmadinejad at the Durban Review Conference looked “even more ridiculous than the clown” [a popular reference to the President of Iran after protesters wearing clown wigs called him a racist as he began his speech and one threw their red clown nose [...]
Click here for full article and commentsOfficial Outcome Document
Saturday, April 25th, 2009At a press conference at the close of the Durban Review Congerence it was announced that the outcome document from the Durban Review Conference (which can be seen in the Durban Review Conference resources section) is now open for consultation until the 8th of May. States can specify corrections and reservations, they can for example [...]
Click here for full article and commentsDurban II, another opportunity missed
Friday, April 24th, 2009Benjamin Pogrund gives a fair summary of the Durban Review Conference and the real issues at play. He notes that the five-day conference adopted a 143 paragraph declaration, yet this was endorsed by some of the worst violators of human rights in the world, while some of those who lead in the human rights field [...]
Click here for full article and commentsRacism Review on the U.N. Anti-Racism Conference
Friday, April 24th, 2009Racism Review (run by experts in the area) published a detailed background discussion on the history of the World Conference Against Racism and the issues that have beset the Durban Review Conference.
Read the full article at Racism Review
Chile energetically rejects Iranian president’s negation of the Holocaust
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile has released the following statement:
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile energetically rejects the declarations made by the President of Iran, Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, within the framework of the Conference of Revision of Durban against racism and the racial discrimination that is taking place in Geneva at the [...]
World Jewish Congress President criticizes Switzerland
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009In an interview in the Swiss paper Neue Luzerner Zeitung on Wednesday, the president of the World Jewish Congress, Ronald Lauder, has strongly criticizes Switzerland, he says he is getting the impression that Switzerland wants to please Tehran.
Lauder asks, “Why was there no reaction of Switzerland when Ahmadinejad spoke? The Swiss ambassador remained seated while [...]
The U.N.’s Anti-Antiracism Conference
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009In the Wall Street Journal (Europe), Prof Gerald Steinberg notes that only outside the official U.N. antiracism conference, at well-attended “counterconferences” do “the real victims of racism and mass murder get the attention they deserved.”
Steinberg highlights presentations by victims of Iranian oppression, survivors of the Rwandan genocide and of the continuing slaughter in Darfur who [...]
Why Israel not Chenchnya?
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009Chechens are much worse off than Palestinians, but the world does not seem to notice Chechen greivances given that they do not provide the opportunity to bash the Jewish state, writes Brett Stephens.
Click here for his analysis on why the Durban Review Conference got it wrong.
