Durban's Final Communique backs Palestinians' rights to establish state, self-determination
Regional, Politics, 9/10/2001

The Third World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) wound up its meetings in Durban, South Africa after reaching a compromise on the slavery and Middle East issues.

Syria, supported by Pakistan, tabled a last-minute motion calling for the conference, which has already been extended by a day, to adopt a text implicitly referring to Israel as racist.

But the motion was rejected in a conference vote, clearing the final hurdle to the adoption of the Durban Declaration which lays down a program of action to combat racism and xenophobia.

There was no vote on the overall documents, which the conference chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, South Africa's Foreign Minister, declared approved when nobody objected.

The conference shall adopt a report. I hear no objections," she said. Canada, Australia, Syria, Iran and others earlier expressed deep reservations over the declaration's text on the Middle East conflict. These will be included in the final report on the conference to be sent to the United Nations.

"We have not been deterred from making a breakthrough here in Durban," said UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson in a closing speech to the conference, the largest ever held on racism.

"The real measure of our work will be whether it makes a real difference in the lives of victims," said Robinson, who was Secretary-General of the meeting.

The meeting, held in South Africa to celebrate its victory over apartheid, had been forced into extra time by arguments over the slavery issue, with African states pressing for an explicit apology from Western governments.

A deal was only sealed early yesterday, with Africa settling for something less - expressions of regret and the promise of more aid for development projects.

The declaration "acknowledged and profoundly regretted the massive suffering, caused by slavery." It urged countries involved to express "regret, remorse or apologies," and declared slavery and slave trading to be crimes against humanity, saying they "should have been so" in the past.

Rich States had feared that any formal apology or recognition that past slave trading constituted a crime against humanity could lead to a flood of lawsuits. No statute of limitations applies to crimes against humanity in international law.

The document also made no mention of direct reparations for the suffering caused by the human trafficking in which millions of Africans were shipped across the Atlantic, often chained, in the holds of ships.

Africa says the economic development of the continent, the world's poorest, has been held up by the lingering consequences of colonialism and the stigma left by slavery.

Following are the proposals presented by Zuma on the situation in the Middle East and the occupied Palestinian lands which were endorsed by the Durban conference:

1.We are conscious of the fact that the history of humanity is replete with major atrocities as a result of the gross violations of human rights and believe that lessons can be learnt through remembering history to avert future tragedies.

2. We recall that the Holocaust must never be forgotten.

3.We recognize with deep concern religious intolerance against certain religious communities, as well as the emergence of hostile acts and violence against such communities because of their religious beliefs and their racial or ethnic origin in various parts of the world which in particular limit their right to freely practice their beliefs.

4. We also recognize with deep concern the increase in anti-Semitism and Islam phobia in various parts of the world, as well as the emergence of racial and violent movements based on racism and discriminatory ideas against Jewish, Muslims and Arab communities.

5.We are conscious that humanity's history is replete with terrible wrongs inflicted through lack of respect for the quality of human beings and note with alarm the increase of such practices in various parts of the world, and we urge people, particularly in conflict situations, to desist from racist incitement, derogatory language and negative stereotyping.

6.We are concerned about the plight of the Palestinian people under foreign occupation. We recognize the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to the establishment of an independent state and we recognize the right to security for all states in the region, including Israel, and call upon all states to support the peace process and bring it to an early conclusion.

7.We call for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the region in which all peoples shall co-exist and enjoy equality, justice and internationally recognized human rights and security.

8.We recognize the right of refugees to return voluntarily to their homes and property in dignity and safety, and urge all states to facilitate such return.

As regards the Durban conference plan of action, Zuma proposed the following: 1.We believe that all conflicts and disputes should be resolved through peaceful means and political dialogue. We call on all parties involved in such conflicts to exercise restraint and to respect human rights and international humanitarian law.

2.We call upon states, opposing all forms of racism, to recognize the need to counter anti-Semitism, anti-Arabism and Islam phobia world-wide and urge all states to take effective measures to prevent the emergence of movements based on racism and discriminatory ideas concerning these communities.

3. As for the situation in the Middle East, we call for the end of violence and the swift resumption of negotiations, respect for international human rights and humanitarian law, respect for the principle of self-determination and the end of all suffering, thus allowing Israel and the Palestinians to resume the peace process, and to develop and prosper in security and freedom.

Previous Stories:
  Moussa, Cassini hold talks   (9/8/2001)
  Maher follows up proceedings of Durban's WCAR   (9/8/2001)
  Arab League insists on holding int'l conference to implement Geneva convention   (9/8/2001)

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