RIGHTS: UN Extends Talks in Bid to Save Anti-Racism Conference

By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Print |

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, Aug 9 2001 (IPS) - The profound differences of opinion obstructing preparations for the World Conference against Racism, scheduled to begin Aug 31 in South Africa, have forced an extension of negotiations on the meeting’s draft resolutions.

Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, recognised that the preparatory committee has fallen behind in drafting the conference’s final declaration and programme of action, agreeing to continue the debate in the three weeks remaining before delegates begin gathering in Durban, South Africa.

Deliberations continue to be bogged down most by discrepancies on the situation in the Middle East, matters related to slavery and colonialism, and compensation for victims.

Casting a shadow over these tensions is the threat of a boycott by the United States, which rejects a text that condemns Israel for the situation in Palestine, an initiative backed by Arab nations.

Since negotiations entered the inter-regional phase of preparation last May, barely a quarter of the draft declaration and slightly more of the programme of action have been unanimously agreed upon by delegates from the more than 130 countries involved.

The preparatory process, which began in 2000 with regional conferences, has been much more arduous than the two previous conferences against racism, held in Geneva in 1978 and 1983.

In that era it was much easier because the dominant theme was the condemnation of the segregationist regime (apartheid) that continued in South Africa. All the delegates raised their hands to approve the measure against the African nation and the conference ended in harmony, says a veteran diplomat.

But with the end of apartheid and the political ascent of the African majority in that country, international attention turned towards other facets of racism, revealing divergences in opinions that now threaten the success of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, to meet in Durban Aug 31-Sep 7.

Robinson acknowledged this danger in an emphatic appeal aimed at governments to recognise that “inequality is the pressing challenge of our times” and to ensure the success of the Durban meeting.

But the negotiations between governments advance at a sluggish pace, leading Robinson to rule out setting a deadline and to convene “a search for solutions – at the highest levels.”

One of the sticking points has been how to identify the victims of racism. An initial accord listed among the world population’s vulnerable groups descendants of Africans, indigenous peoples, migrants and refugees – encompassing those who are internally displaced from their homes as well as those seeking asylum.

But some delegations are fighting for the inclusion of other sectors not mentioned in the description. For example, the mere fact of being a woman or a child is considered an aggravating factor in the phenomenon of racism, as is poverty.

Other groups targeted for inclusion on the list are the Roma (gypsies), people of Asian descent and victims of anti-Semitism and anti-Islamic sentiment.

The delegation from Brazil proposed that mention of discrimination against people for their sexual orientation should also be included in the Durban conference’s final declaration as a means to protect homosexuals.

The governments of Latin America and of the European Union (EU) approved the debate on that point, but several Islamic countries reject homosexuality as “immoral.”

On the matters of slavery and colonialism, the United States and the EU strongly opposed a request for an apology to the victims.

In the preparatory discussions, they have recognised the perverse nature of slavery, and in regards to colonialism, have said that only some aspects were condemnable.

The United States says that an apology for slavery or colonialism would constitute an admission of guilt according to the legal system in that country, and would pave the way for legal action in pursuit of compensation.

A binding international declaration allowing the petition for an apology would unleash an avalanche of lawsuits in US courts filed by victims of slavery, says the US delegation.

The tensions over the harm caused by slavery and colonialism, which primarily pit African nations against the United States and Europe, began to show signs of dissipating this week following the release of a document by the African Group of nations taking part in the preparatory process.

The text calls on Western nations to pay attention to the New African Initiative, a regional development plan that the continent’s governments launched last month.

The EU and the United States reacted in favour of the initiative, but this week the African Group asserted that they “should urgently translate their declared commitment and solidarity into concrete actions.”

Diplomatic sources said compensation for past injustices could be channelled through debt reduction and efforts to facilitate credits, without wealthy nations having to make any sort of direct payments.

The most conflictive point in the lead-up to the Durban conference continues to be the Middle East, as Arab countries demand mention in the final declaration of Israel as protagonist of racist actions against Palestinians.

US congressman, Tom Lantos, a member of the Democratic Party who is taking part in the talks in Geneva, warned that if the Arabs persist in their demands to include Zionism on the agenda he would advise his government not to attend the Durban Conference against Racism.

High Commissioner Robinson, however, had expressed some optimism, saying she was “pleased that in the current discussions underway everyone understands there can be no return to an issue settled by the (UN) General Assembly, the former Zionism-racism problem.”

The conference’s preparatory committee sessions are slated to conclude Friday, but sources from Robinson’s office said they would likely continue in Geneva until the beginning of the meeting in Durban.