U.S. and Israel Leave Racism Conference

September 3, 2001

The United States and Israel have withdrawn from the World Conference Against Racism in protest over anti-Israeli rhetoric in the conference declaration.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said he made the decision to withdraw his delegation from the conference "with regret." But, in a statement issued in Washington, Mr. Powell said, "you do not combat racism through conferences that produce declarations containing hateful language."

Congressman Tom Lantos, a member of the U.S. delegation, said the decision to withdraw came after a Norwegian proposal on wording for the conference declaration was rejected. Lantos said Arab nations were unwilling to compromise, and the document still singles out Israel for criticism. "Those who have made it their goal to hijack the conference for their propaganda purposes appear have shown, in the course of the day, a degree of rigidity and unwillingness to compromise in any reasonable sense," Rep. Lantos said.

Mr. Lantos also said the outcome has vindicated the decision to keep Mr. Powell at home and send a lower-level delegation to Durban. "Clearly, Colin Powell's presence would have made zero difference in the outcome. He would have been embarrassed and humiliated."

The withdrawal was immediately welcomed by several prominent Jewish groups. Both the host country, South Africa, and the United Nations expressed their regret at the decision.

Official word that the United States was leaving the conference came in the form of a written statement issued in Washington from Secretary of State Colin Powell.

In it, Mr. Powell said he had instructed the U.S. delegation in Durban to return home, citing what he called "hateful language" in the draft final declaration that singles out Israel for "censure and abuse."

Shortly after the Powell statement was issued in Washington, Israel's Foreign Minister Shimon Peres announced in Jerusalem that his country would follow the U.S. lead and leave the racism conference in Durban.

In his statement, Secretary of State Powell said he made the decision to withdraw the U.S. delegation with regret, because he believed that the U.N. conference could have made a contribution to the international fight against racism.

The United Nations called the conference to formulate an international strategy for dealing with racism around the world. But in the weeks leading up to the conference, attention became heavily focused on the conflict in the Middle East and an attempt by some Arab and Islamic countries to condemn Israel for its treatment of Palestinians in the occupied territories.

Last week, Secretary of State Powell announced that he would not attend the conference because of the anti-Israel efforts, but would send a lower-level delegation instead.

More TruthNews