Pope Benedict today said he sincerely hopes that delegates who attend the Durban II conference will work together, with a spirit of dialogue and reciprocal acceptance, to put an end to every form of racism, discrimination and intolerance.
Such an effort, Benedict said, would be – a fundamental step toward the affirmation of the universal value of the dignity of man and his rights.
Benedict told pilgrims at the papal vacation retreat in Castel Gandolfo that the declaration, born out of the first world conference on racism in Durban, South Africa, in 2001, recognized that – all peoples and persons form one human family, rich in diversity.
Obama stays home
The Obama Administration officially stated that it will not attend next week’s anti-racism conference being hosted by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. A press release from the State Department noted that while the final draft declaration to be adopted at the close of the conference had been amended to remove direct references to Israel, it still contained unacceptable indirect hostility toward the Jewish state.
Washington is also unhappy with language in the declaration suggesting it is a crime to criticize Islam.
Australia and the Netherlands announced on Sunday that they would boycott the event for the same reasons as the US. The Durban II conference is a follow-up of the 2001 UN anti-racism summit held in Durban, South Africa. That even quickly descended into an orgy of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rhetoric. The draft declaration for next week’s summit explicitly upholds the “findings” of the previous gathering.
Britain goes against US
Breaking ranks with key Western nations, Britain on Sunday said it would be participating in the upcoming United Nations-sponsored Durban II anti-racism conference. – It is the intention of the government to attend the conference, a British foreign office spokesperson told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
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