DURBAN II RESOURCE GUIDE.
www.ngo-monitor.org/durban.pdf

Forward by Professor Gerald Steinberg

The Durban Review Conference (DRC, or Durban II), scheduled to be held in
Geneva beginning on April 21, 2009, was called to provide a "follow-up" to
the
2001 U.N. World Conference Against Racism (the Durban conference). The
2001 event marked the escalation in the process of politicizing human
rights,
and accelerated the erosion of the moral principles as established in the
1948
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The hijacking of this mechanism by
the
worst human rights offenders - Iran, Libya, and Cuba - led the American and
U.S. delegations to walk out of the governmental meetings, and built the
foundation
for the strategy of demonization adopted in the parallel NGO Forum.

But the starting conditions for the DRC are very different - some important
lessons have been learned, and this time, governmental and NGO delegations
that oppose this agenda have been involved from the beginning. This guide
provides a summary of much of this preparation, identifying the main issues
and the principle actors - including both the governments and the powerful
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) - that have been active in shaping
the DRC and are expected to impact the outcome of the conference itself.

As shown in this overview, the preparatory meetings pointed to another
human rights catastrophe. However, the determined efforts of a few
governments,
and the opposition that arose within the NGO community, have created
the opportunity for a reversal of the 2001 outcome. First Canada, and then
Israel, the United States (under the Obama Administration), and Italy
declared
that they would not participate in another virulently antisemitic event that
singled out Israel for attack.

Other European governments discussed a similar move unless the language
preventing free speech, and giving Islam a privileged position, was removed.

This would have left only the members of the Organization of the Islamic
Conference
and a few other countries in the room, thereby delegitimizing the DRC.

This fear led to a sudden revision of the draft declaration, one month
before
the conference, and the removal of most of the OIC's language. As this
publication
goes to press, the implications are being assessed, but at least tactically,
the change in the draft - which can still be reversed - can turn into an
important
victory in the restoration of universality and morality to human rights.

In parallel, the role of the powerful non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
in
the DRC has been greatly reduced, thereby removing much of the political
momentum
behind the Durban strategy of boycotts and demonization, including
the abuse of pseudo-legal and genocidal language aimed at Israel. In
contrast
to the 2001 conference, the UN has not allocated funds or facilities for an
NGO
Forum in Geneva, and other sponsors of mass NGO participation in Durban,
such as the Ford Foundation and the Canadian government, have also changed
their policies to avoid a repeat performance. In addition, more than 100
NGOs
signed a "Statement of Core Principles for WCAR Follow Up," which
"thoroughly
rejects hatred and incitement in all its forms, including anti-Semitism" and
calls
Page 3
on other NGOs to "learn from the shortcomings of the 2001 WCAR.."
Unfortunately,
some of the NGOs that contributed to such "shortcomings," and are
active in demonization, such as Human Rights Watch, refused to join this
call.
HRW leaders also campaigned against the central Canadian decision to pull
out
of the DRC.

Even without an NGO Forum, the opportunity continues for NGO involvement
in the governmental proceedings and in various side events in the UN. In
theory,
the thousands of NGOs that are accredited under the Economic and Social
Council, or which received special accreditation for the 2001 conference,
will be
able to participate in the DRC. European government funders of
non-governmental
organizations, including aid agencies and the European Commission,
have not restricted the use of their funds for this conference. And some
newly
accredited NGOs - such as the "Palestinian Grassroots Anti-apartheid Wall
Coalition"
- are likely to promote the virulent anti-Israel agenda.

Additionally, on the fringes of the DRC, the Palestinian National Boycott,
Divestment, and Sanctions Committee is organizing the "Israel Review
Conference"
for April 18-19, 2009 in Geneva, "unit[ing] against apartheid, colonialism,
and occupation." The play on the official conference name (the group has
also
modified the DRC logo for its event) is another indication of the intention
to
resist efforts to undo the damage of the 2001 NGO Forum.

Thus, in addition to close examination of the policies of the participating
governments
and UN officials at this conference, it will be very important to analyze
the role of the NGOs, and to hold their officials and the funders -
including
European governments - accountable. This resource guide was assembled and
published in order to assist in this critical aspect of the DRC process.

Gerald M. Steinberg
Executive Director, NGO Monitor
March 22, 2009