The UN appears to be degenerating further into a pro-fundamental islamic movement. Following the previous  assault on free speech in the western world by Islamic elements of the UN, the upcoming second Durban conference on racism looks set to be hijacked again by Islamic world as a platform to bash Israel.

In response to this several countries have boycotted the conference, the most notable being the US who announced today they will not be attending.

So what led the US to pull out of what is supposed to be a constructive look at how to combat racism in the modern age?

The original Durban conference was held back in 2001 and quickly degenerated into a soap box for Islamic nations to whinge about whether or not Zionism was racist and the general rhetoric you hear coming out of the middle east on the issue.

The Arab position was stated by the Secretary General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa: “Israel’s racist actions against the Palestinian people have to be dealt with in an international conference that aims to eradicate racism. Arab countries are not expecting the Durban conference to be a venue for dealing with the Arab- Israeli peace process, but they certainly expect that the Israeli racist practices against the Palestinian people will not be overlooked.”

The Arab delegates were not insistent upon language that specifically equated Zionism with racism. It had been suggested that they were trying to revive United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379 (issued 1975, annulled 1991) which stated that “Zionism is a form of racism.”. Their position was that they were, rather, trying to underline that the actions being committed by Israel against Palestinians were racist.


Thus a world forum on racism quickly became a one issue fiasco and ultimately the US and Israel walked out. The Islamic world’s push to have Zionism and Israel’s actions classed as racist failed but the damage had already been done.

The BBC don’t quote a source but they paint Australia’s opinion of the conclusion of the conference in a negative light.

For Australia, “far too much of the time at the conference was consumed by bitter divisive exchanges on issues which have done nothing to advance the cause of combating racism”.


Fast forward  eight years to 2009 and it would appear nothing much has changed. The middle east is still a bitter shit fight and once again Islamic states are pushing for Israel’s actions and Zionism to be classed as racist.

With the only attendance of a head of state being Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the political hijacking of the Durban conference seems inevitable.

To date Canada, the US, Israel, Sweden and Italy have announced they will be boycotting the conference. Australia is currently considering a boycott, foreign minister Stephen Smith has stated that

If we form the view that the text is going to lead to nothing more than an anti-Jewish, anti-Semitic harangue and an anti-Jewish propaganda exercise, Australia will not be in attendance.


Out of context, it is easy to see the boycotts as the west simply turning it’s back on the plight of Arab’s in the middle east. I am not blindly pro Israel just as I am not blindly pro-Arab on the issue, I believe both sides have a lot to answer for. I can’t help but ask how do Islamic states expect anyone to take them seriously when any attempt at reconciliation appear to be grossly one sided with little to no compromise on their behalf?

On the issue of Israel they have called for disbandment of the Jewish state and on the issue of religious blasphemy have urged the UN to pass a mandate they can then use to pressure other countries to instate blasphemy, particularly against Islam as being illegal.

There is no compromise or open discussion in both proposals, only demands.

The Durban conference is shaping up to be a closed rabble of Islamic states arguing amongst themselves and no doubt coming to a conclusion the rest of the world will largely ignore. Sadly it would appear that the ultimate goal of actually discussing and constructing action plans to combat global racism (because you know, the middle east isn’t the only place racism happens), will once again be overshadowed.

If the Arab states want the world to come to the negotiating table they need to stop treating the rest of the world like an Islamic woman in a burqa. Demands with no room for compromise are not negotiations and will never be taken seriously on the world stage.

I sincerely hope Australia announces a boycott in the next 24 hours, I can’t stand the thought of my country taking part in such a lopsided farce.

Update 3:10pm

Stephen Smith has made an announcement stating that Australia won’t be going.

Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith said the Geneva meeting reaffirms the 2001 outcomes, singling out Israel and the Middle East.

“Regrettably, we cannot be confident that the review conference will not again be used as a platform to air offensive views, including anti-Semitic views,” Mr Smith said.

“Of additional concern are the suggestions of some delegations in the Durban process to limit the universal right to free speech.”


National pride: 1

Islamic extremists: 0

1. Racism towards Indian students in Australia? Please.
2. Poor diddums: Aboriginals ask UN for refugee status