17 April 2009 14:59 GMT
Samuel Gardaz
Diplomats and campaigners said Friday that an agreement on a declaration for a UN anti-racism conference was taking shape, despite fears that the arrival of Iran's president could disrupt the meeting.
Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has stirred outrage by repeatedly calling the Holocaust a "myth" and with anti-Israel comments, is the only prominent head of state so far scheduled to attend the Durban Review Conference on Monday.
News of his attendance has sparked renewed fears that the five-day meeting, which begins in Geneva on Monday, could end in acrimony -- like the World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, eight years ago.
The United States and Israel walked out of the 2001 conference, amid charges it had become a forum for anti-Semitism.
A similar row has marred negotiations in recent months to draw up the final declaration at the Geneva meeting -- which is due to take stock of progress in fighting racism and xenophobia since Durban -- prompting boycott threats by some Western states.
But human rights groups and diplomats said Friday that Western and most Muslim states had agreed to iron out most of the controversial issues, relating to religious discrimination and Israel.
"It seems that governments are planning an agreement on two of the most important political battles that were at the centre of the negotiations," said Antoine Madelin of the International human rights federation (FIDH).
"There's only one point outstanding, the question of the Holocaust," a Western diplomat told AFP late Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A Iranian diplomat said Tehran wanted to transfer a standalone reference to the Holocaust into a section on injustices of the past, a demand that Europeans regard as unacceptable.
Given the Iranian president's previous hardline statements, a European diplomat said it could be more difficult to find a consensus if the talks spill over next week, calling the talks "a race against the clock."
But other diplomats said that while Ahmadinejad's attendance would divert public attention, he was unlikely to derail negotiations on a renewed international pledge to fight racism.
"In other UN meetings, some countries did not agree on everything but that does not prevent their heads of states from attending," said an Asian diplomat. "We should not prejudge the Iranian president's participation."
Any provocative statement made by Ahmadinejad may be used by boycotting delegations to justify their decision to stay away, the diplomat said.
Human Rights Watch, which had earlier urged governments not to let the scheduled presence of Ahmadinejad on Monday undermine the upcoming conference, played down the Iranian impact on Friday.
"There is a broad consensus of nations coming forward for this review conference," said Julie de Rivero, advocacy director for the rights group in Geneva.
"There may be isolated attempts to change things, but they remain that and I don't think they will have an influence," she told journalists.
Gerald Steinberg, executive director of pro-Israel lobby group NGO Monitor, also believed the Iranian president was unlikely to threaten the conference's outcome.
But he noted: "If Ahmadinejad is here, it will turn the whole thing into a circus."
European Union states would decide late Friday if they would take part, French Secretary of State Rama Yade said in Paris.
The United States has said it would not re-engage in the anti-racism conference unless what it considers restrictions on freedom of expression were lifted.
Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has stirred outrage by repeatedly calling the Holocaust a "myth" and with anti-Israel comments, is the only prominent head of state so far scheduled to attend the Durban Review Conference on Monday.
News of his attendance has sparked renewed fears that the five-day meeting, which begins in Geneva on Monday, could end in acrimony -- like the World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, eight years ago.
The United States and Israel walked out of the 2001 conference, amid charges it had become a forum for anti-Semitism.
A similar row has marred negotiations in recent months to draw up the final declaration at the Geneva meeting -- which is due to take stock of progress in fighting racism and xenophobia since Durban -- prompting boycott threats by some Western states.
But human rights groups and diplomats said Friday that Western and most Muslim states had agreed to iron out most of the controversial issues, relating to religious discrimination and Israel.
"It seems that governments are planning an agreement on two of the most important political battles that were at the centre of the negotiations," said Antoine Madelin of the International human rights federation (FIDH).
"There's only one point outstanding, the question of the Holocaust," a Western diplomat told AFP late Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A Iranian diplomat said Tehran wanted to transfer a standalone reference to the Holocaust into a section on injustices of the past, a demand that Europeans regard as unacceptable.
Given the Iranian president's previous hardline statements, a European diplomat said it could be more difficult to find a consensus if the talks spill over next week, calling the talks "a race against the clock."
But other diplomats said that while Ahmadinejad's attendance would divert public attention, he was unlikely to derail negotiations on a renewed international pledge to fight racism.
"In other UN meetings, some countries did not agree on everything but that does not prevent their heads of states from attending," said an Asian diplomat. "We should not prejudge the Iranian president's participation."
Any provocative statement made by Ahmadinejad may be used by boycotting delegations to justify their decision to stay away, the diplomat said.
Human Rights Watch, which had earlier urged governments not to let the scheduled presence of Ahmadinejad on Monday undermine the upcoming conference, played down the Iranian impact on Friday.
"There is a broad consensus of nations coming forward for this review conference," said Julie de Rivero, advocacy director for the rights group in Geneva.
"There may be isolated attempts to change things, but they remain that and I don't think they will have an influence," she told journalists.
Gerald Steinberg, executive director of pro-Israel lobby group NGO Monitor, also believed the Iranian president was unlikely to threaten the conference's outcome.
But he noted: "If Ahmadinejad is here, it will turn the whole thing into a circus."
European Union states would decide late Friday if they would take part, French Secretary of State Rama Yade said in Paris.
The United States has said it would not re-engage in the anti-racism conference unless what it considers restrictions on freedom of expression were lifted.
No comments:
Post a Comment