Durban II: anti-Western and anti-Semitic feelings à la carte

The Great Pumkpin:

Seven years ago, the United Nations held a conference on racism in Durban, South Africa to address what some saw as growing trends in hate speech and discrimination. Lofty ideals aside, the conference quickly collapsed into an anti-American, anti-Israeli spectacle. As then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat delivered rants on the conspiratorial and racist goals of Israel, others handed out flyers celebrating Adolf Hitler. Having had enough, the United States rightly walked out in protest.

Today, the United Nations is gearing up for a Durban follow-up set for 2009. Like the first conference, “Durban II” would be funded through the regular U.N. budget, 22 percent of which comes from the American taxpayer. In a symbolic gesture, the United States withheld equivalent funds from the U.N. budget, and voted against its final passage.

Regardless, Durban II will proceed, and the prospects for it taking a 180-degree turn are not good. Like the first Durban conference, some of the worst human-rights violators will serve on Durban II’s panel. Participating members were selected by the gravely disappointing U.N. Commission on Human Rights – the same commission that has passed light condemnations of the regimes in Burma and Sudan. Its passion is democratic Israel, which has been condemned 15 times over the past two years.

Technorati Tags: Durban, UN, United+Nations, Human+Rights, Human+Rights+Abuses, anti-americanism, anti-israeli, anti-semitism, USA

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