Front Page
Politics
Economy
International
Sports
Society
Culture
Videos
Newspapers
Ahram Online
Al-Ahram Weekly
Albawaba
Almasry Alyoum
Amwal Al Ghad
Arab News Agency
Bikya Masr
Daily News Egypt
FilGoal
The Egyptian Gazette
Youm7
Subject
Author
Region
f
t
مصرس
BREAKING: Egypt's central bank hikes key interest rates by 200 bps
European real estate stocks ricochet after recent turmoil
U.S. Electronic Arts to wave 6% of its workforce
Republicans push sprawling bill to unleash American energy
Celebrating Van Gogh's 170th birthday
Al-Hakim Mosque opens after renovation
Swiss citizens sue government over climate change case
Rana El Kaliouby Egyptian scientist participates in NASDAQ
United States market briefing 29/03/2023
Balqees Fathi named Valentino's Middle East Di.Va.
Egypt to regulate stray dogs, possession of dangerous animals
Internet Archive for eBooks violates copyrights
Maha Ghanem first female university head in Upper Egypt
U.S. among 34 countries ask for IOC ban for Russian, Belarusian athletes
Egypt's Dalia Mahmoud acts as 1st women prosecutor at court
inDrive world's fastest growing ride-hailing app in 2022
Egypt's Jermine Sherif among top world 100 junior tennis players
Nepal's deadliest day in 30 years: 68 bodies recovered from plane crash site
valU deploys Infobip's solutions to provide customer support over WhatsApp
Fertilisers recycled from human urine, feces are 'environmentally safe': Study
Fertilisers recycled from human urine, feces are 'environmentally safe': Study
Fertilisers recycled from human urine, feces are 'environmentally safe': Study
People & Places awards EGP1.6bn construction contracts for its North Coast development in Ras El Hekma; THE MED
Egyptian-Chinese talks in Cairo on Sunday at level of foreign ministers
Central Bank of Egypt says food major driver of December 2022's inflation of 21.3%
Shoukry heads to Riyadh for political consultation meeting with Saudi Arabia
Egyptian and international films to be released in 2023
Egyptian and international films to be released in 2023
Egyptian and international films to be released in 2023
Egypt police foil terrorist attack on checkpoint in Ismailia
Egypt to witness inauguration of Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant and Dam in Tanzania
Egypt's team secures 2022 WSF Women's World Team Squash Championship for fifth time in its history
Egypt's team secures 2022 WSF Women's World Team Squash Championship for fifth time in its history
US-Africa Summit gives impetus to US relations with African countries: Egypt's Presidential Spokesperson
Runners "race through history" at Egypt's Pyramids Half Marathon
Three possible scenarios as Egypt's central bank governor resigns – MP
Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban
It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game
Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights
Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines
Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19
Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers
Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled
We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga
Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June
Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds
Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go
Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform
Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.
OK
Reading between the brackets
Dina Ezzat
Published in
Al-Ahram Weekly
on 09 - 08 - 2001
The Western world does not view
Israeli
actions against the Palestinians as a form of racism. Dina Ezzat reports on preparations for a UN conference against racism
The last preparatory meetings for the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) are scheduled to close tomorrow in
Geneva
amid expectations that statements linking Zionism to racism, suggested for the conference declaration and programme of action, will be removed.
Already placed within brackets, these statements are expected to be replaced by other statements referring to violations of the rights of Palestinians.
The brackets, and many others that punctuate both the programme of action and the final declaration, are likely to be removed ahead of the opening of the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance on 31 August in Durban,
South Africa
.
By 7 September, the date the Durban conference concludes, the participating UN members will need to reach a consensus on a course of action to put an end to racism and compensate its victims, which will then be presented for universal adoption.
The
Geneva
meetings had opened on 30 July against the backdrop of an international debate over the extent to which the Durban Declaration and programme of action should focus on the Palestinian issue, particularly in relation to Zionism. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which is coordinating conference preparations, was clearly concerned with this debate. Particularly alarming was the US threat to boycott the conference should the draft documents include allusions that could be interpreted in any way as equating Zionism with racism. In her address to the preparatory meetings earlier this week, Mary Robinson, WCAR secretary- general and UN high commissioner for human rights, said that regional political conflicts should not be imposed on the agenda of the conference.
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa clarified the Arab position. "
Israel
's racist actions against the Palestinian people have to be dealt with in an international conference that aims to eradicate racism. Arab countries are not expecting the Durban conference to be a venue for dealing with the Arab-
Israeli
peace process, but they certainly expect that the
Israeli
racist practices against the Palestinian people will not be overlooked."
In any case, Arab delegates in
Geneva
were not insistent on including language that equates Zionism with racism in either the Durban Declaration or programme of action. Contrary to what has been suggested, they were not trying to revive General Assembly resolution no. 3379 which stated that "Zionism was a form of racism," issued in 1975 and annulled in 1991. Rather, they wanted to underline the fact that
Israel
is committing racist actions against Palestinians.
"What we ask of this conference is to deal with the matter in the serious manner it deserves," commented Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher. Informed sources told Al-Ahram Weekly that like most other Arab capitals,
Cairo
is aware that the US threat to boycott the conference is bound to influence the drafting process; therefore, it would not be practical to insist on any harsh language condemning
Israel
or equating the suffering of holocaust victims with that of the Palestinians. "Except for
Syria
, no Arab state insisted on any language linking
Israel
to racist practices," one
Geneva
-based Arab diplomat told the Weekly.
The documents presented to the
Geneva
meetings 10 days ago comprised six bracketed paragraphs dealing with "Zionist racist practices." These included an appeal for
Israel
"to revise its legislation based on racial or religious discrimination such as the law of return and all the policies of an occupying power which prevent the Palestinian refugees and displaced persons from returning to their homes and properties." They also included an explicit reference to
Israeli
racism, suggesting the need "to bring the foreign occupation of
Jerusalem
by
Israel
together with all its racist practices to an end."
But in the course of the 10 days, most of these phrases were either removed or toned down. Among the phrases removed was a bracketed mention of "holocausts" suffered by other peoples. That reference was seen as an affront to the memory of the Jewish victims of the Nazi holocaust.
"The Americans made it very clear that they do not want any direct or indirect linkage between Zionism and racism... Any racist practices of Zionism are not to be included," commented one Arab diplomat close to the preparatory meetings. According to this diplomat, the Americans are not alone in their stance; they have been joined by the Australians, the Canadians and some European countries.
South Africa
, the host of the conference, also has its reservations. The
South African
permanent representative to UN organisations in
Geneva
reportedly told Arab and Muslim countries that they have to offer the preparatory meetings alternative language that could describe the current situation in the occupied territories without getting into controversial phrases such as "ethnic cleansing practices against Palestinians."
Diplomatic sources argue that the language that will most likely go from
Geneva
to Durban will be statements such as "the practices of occupying powers" and "the massacres perpetuated against the Palestinians since 1948," with no accompanying reference to
Israel
. And, according to the sources, there is no guarantee that even this accommodating language will be endorsed by
Washington
. If disagreement persists, the Durban conference could opt to vote on the bracketed language.
Recommend this page
Related stories:
The oppressed versus the oppressors
First stop Durban 26 July - 1 August 2001
A monopoly on victimisation 5 - 11 July 2001
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
Send a letter to the Editor
Clic
here
to read the story from its source.
Related stories
First stop Durban
Will there be a deal in Durban?
It's called racism
The cynical dynamic
Exercises in translation
Report inappropriate advertisement