Professor Gerald Steinberg has written an excellent piece on the Durban Review conference. While there are many commentators who argue vociferously that any contact with the review process is intrinsically toxic, Steinberg counters that we must acknowledge the “substantial and almost unique” diplomatic victory in securing the latest changes to the draft document, even as he concludes that the case for staying away trumps the case for staying in.
Says Steinberg:
Now that this text has been changed, should these governments, including Israel, acknowledge this important diplomatic victory that forced a change in text - over the heads of the Libyan and Iranian officials - and agree to participate on the basis of the new document? Or is this a diplomatic sleight of hand - a temporary change in language used to bring an end to the revolt of the democratic delegations? This victory, while incomplete, is nevertheless substantial and almost unique - it may represent a tipping point in the wider “soft war,” including anti-Israel boycotts and lawfare cases that abuse human rights as a weapon. The efforts of Iran, Libya, Syria and Egypt to extend the Durban strategy of demonization have been repudiated within the UN - the same body that has led this process since the 2001 original Durban conference.
In parallel, the powerful NGOs, such as
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and their Palestinian allies, have also lost prestige and perhaps some influence in this battle. Not only have their campaigns failed to force Canada, the US, and Italy to change their policies, but the vitriolic NGO Forum from the 2001 Durban conference will not be repeated. If these successes can be “locked in,” to insure that the text and frameworks will not be changed at the last minute, this would be a strategic change.However, the case against re-engagement appears stronger. From this perspective, the entire Durban process and the UN
human rights framework is corrupt beyond repair. In this scenario, the war led by the members of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) will resume as soon as the Obama administration and other democratic governments announce a return. When the conference begins, Libya and Iran, with the support of Egypt, Syria, Cuba, and the rest, will use their majority to restore terms like “apartheid” and Israeli “genocide.”Critics, including the Israeli government, also note that the current text, which was prepared by Russian “facilitator” Yuri Boychenko, remains problematic, particularly in adopting the final declaration from the 2001 Durban Conference. The Israeli and the American delegations withdrew from that conference over the demonizing language (”apartheid,” “war crimes,” etc. in the draft declaration), and the “compromise text,” negotiated by Canada and the Europeans, still singled out
Israel. It emphasized “the plight of the Palestinian people under foreign occupation,” recognized “the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination,” and promoted the claim to a “right of return.” An endorsement of this discriminatory language by the 2009 Review Conference would reinforce the damage done eight years ago in Durban.Read it all. And do keep checking Durban II Countdown for the latest news.
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