Durban II Draft Revives 2001 Tehran Declaration

Durban II is heading toward another debacle. The draft declaration for the April 2009 conference on racism, published by the United Nations at its recent preparatory session in Geneva, revives the hateful rhetoric of the 2001 Tehran Declaration by accusing Israel of committing "genocide", "crimes gainst humanity", and "a new kind of apartheid"; attacks free speech; declares that Islam and its adherents are the world’s greatest victims of racism and of “defamation of religion”; and lists counter-terrorism as a cause of racial discrimination. The text shatters every one of the European Union’s red lines.