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UNITED
NATIONS, Aug 28 (IPS) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan says he
is hopeful that, current deep divisions notwithstanding, delegates
to the World Conference Against Racism will be able to finalise
a declaration acceptable to the world body's 189 member states.
"Efforts
are being made and people are working on the language even as we
speak," Annan said.
The
conference is scheduled to take place in the South African port
city of Durban Aug.31-Sep. 7. The last meeting in preparation for
the talks ended earlier this month in deadlock over the wording
of the declaration and programme of action to be adopted in Durban,
however, so difficult negotiations continue.
The
state of those documents was cited by the U.S. State Department,
which on Monday said Secretary of State Colin Powell has decided
not to attend the Durban talks.
"There's
too much offensive language in the document for the conference,"
a senior U.S. official was quoted as saying, referring to the draft
declaration. "At this point, we don't think we can get it all
out."
Washington
has objected to strong language condemning Israel for its "racist
policies" in the West Bank and Gaza, and for demanding reparations
from Western nations for past slavery and colonialism.
The
United States is expected to send a low-level delegation with no
political mandate to take hard decisions at the conference.
Ron
Walters of the African-American Leadership Institute at the University
of Maryland said the position of the U.S. administration on the
Durban conference does not represent the interests of black Americans,
who broadly support reparations by 65 percent.
"If
the impact of the U.S. being at the conference is to weaken any
statement that comes out of the conference, then it is best for
the U.S. government not to go," Walters said.
Annan
told reporters in Geneva, "Obviously, each government has to
take its own decision whether it participates in the conference
or not."
Pointing
out that this was "a matter between member states", he
said that he had personally encouraged all governments to be at
the table to let their voices be heard and help negotiate a final
text.
"We
would hope that the conference will be able to come up with forward-looking
suggestions and agree on a language that will permit participation
by all," he added.
An
Arab diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IPS that
it would be the height of hypocrisy for the world body to turn a
blind eye to what is going on in the occupied territories.
"We
want to express our deep concern about the practices of racial discrimination
against the Palestinians in the Israeli occupied territories,"
he said.
Since
September last year, the Palestinians have been embroiled in a bloody
conflict with Israel.
The
Arab countries, he said, are urging Israel to revise its legislation,
based on racial and religious factors, which prevents Palestinian
refugees and displaced persons from returning to their homes and
properties in violation of their right to return.
Hussein
Ibish of the Washington-based American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee said that Israel grants any Jewish person from anywhere
in the world automatic citizenship, but Palestinian refugees have
been prevented from returning to their own homes since 1948 simply
because they are not Jewish.
"Thus
the racist practices of Israel simply cannot be excluded from Durban
without rendering the entire conference a travesty," he argued.
Last
month, South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said
that it was wrong for the United States and other Western states
to dictate the agenda of the conference - particularly in relation
to slavery and the Middle East.
"I
think it is very unrealistic to expect that you can completely be
silent, and that the conference can completely ignore what is going
on in the Middle East," Dlamini-Zuma said.
Contentious
clauses in the draft programme of action include one calling on
all U.N. organs "to endeavour to bring the foreign occupation
of Jerusalem by Israel, together with all its racist practices,
to an end."
The
document also seeks to ensure "the recognition of Jerusalem
as a city of reverence and religious sanctity for the three major
religions of the world (Islam, Christianity and Judaism) which should
serve as a focal point of historical and cultural inspiration, a
symbol of civilisation and religious dialogue and an epitome of
tolerance and equality."
The
conference will also call upon the international community "to
assume its responsibilities to provide international protection
for the Palestinian people under occupation against any acts of
racism, racial discrimination and denial of fundamental human rights,
including the right to life, liberty and self determination."
According
to the 41-page draft declaration, the conference "recognises
with deep concern the increase of racist practices of Zionism and
anti-Semitism in various parts of the world, as well as the emergence
of racial and violent movements based on racism and discriminatory
ideas, in particular, the Zionist movement which is based on racial
superiority."
On
the issue of slavery, the draft document "requests States which
practised slavery and benefited from the trans-Atlantic slave trade
and the system of enslavement of Africans, to initiate a constructive
dialogue with people of African descent, in order to identify and
implement measures for ethical and moral satisfaction, and any others
that may be agreed."
The
draft also calls for the conference to ensure the right to seek
from competent national tribunals and other national institutions
just and adequate reparation for any damage caused by such discrimination.
The
programme of action further "urges States to acknowledge that
the centuries-long slave trade, enslavement and other forms of servitude
of Africans, people of African descent and indigenous peoples have
resulted in substantial and lasting economic, political and cultural
damage to these people and the retardation of their institutions
and societies."
Additionally,
the conference is expected to call for the establishment of an international
compensation scheme for victims of the slave trade. (END/IPS/WD/HD/TD/AA/01)
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