UNA-USA STATEMENT ON US DECISION TO ENGAGE IN DURBAN REVIEW CONFERENCE'S WORKING GROUP NEGOTIATIONS

UNA-USA NEWS!
The United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) welcomes the decision announced Feb. 14 by the Obama administration to engage in negotiations leading up to the Durban Review Conference addressing racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. The US decision does not indicate a commitment to participate in the World Conference Against Racism in Geneva, Switzerland, from April 20 to 24, 2009. Nevertheless, UNA-USA believes that United States participation in the preparatory meetings is a significant step towards setting the stage for a constructive dialogue on international strategies to combat racism and advance the UN’s human rights agenda at the conference.

“Combating racism and xenophobia is perhaps the most important challenge facing the world in this era of globalization,” said William H. Luers, president of UNA-USA. “It is essential that the United States engage with other UN member states to find ways to overcome prejudice against others, which is often at the source of conflict and instability, and which threatens our collective security. In this regard, we believe that the Obama administration can make an invaluable contribution to the outcome document that will be considered as a blueprint for future action by the governments participating in the conference.”

While fully aware of the controversy that has surrounded the UN’s past efforts to combat racism, UNA-USA believes that the Durban Declaration and Program of Action adopted at the 2001 World Conference Against Racism has played a critical role in enabling individuals and governments to address the impact of racism and xenophobia in their societies. And, while we realize that this issue will continue to evoke controversy, it is simply too important to ignore. For this reason, we support the administration’s effort to do all that it can in the days leading up to the conference to ensure the best possible outcome for addressing this challenge.

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