Press Statement: Left leaning groups asking the German government to withdraw from the Durban Review Conference

A declaration from various left leaning groups asking the German government to withdraw from the Durban Review Conference

By: various left leaning groups

Berlin, March 16, 2009

 

Against Instrumentalization of Racism!

 

A Declaration on the Durban Review Conference on 20-24 April 2009

 

The transnational struggle against racism, anti-Semitism and other forms of hostility is a particularly important concern for us. All too often, these resentments are ignored or minimized in our societies. We therefore consider it particularly important that they be clearly named and systematically opposed.

 

Given the global prevalence of racial oppression and discrimination, we believe international organizations have an obligation and a special role to play. The United Nations, as the historical birthplace of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Anti-Racism Convention, offers a central forum for this process. For this reason, we explicitly welcome the efforts of the German Foreign Office and the European Union to rescue the planned review conference to the UN Anti-Racism Conference in Durban in 2001 and to allow it to take place in Geneva as planned from 20 to 24 April 2009. However, we must now acknowledge that the conference is beyond repair.

 

The original conference in Durban already caused immeasurable harm to the struggle against racism. Rather than addressing actual problems of discrimination and oppression, the meeting became a tribunal against Israel and the West. Among other things, this meant that progressive aspects of the Durban concluding declaration, such as recognition of the slave trade as a “crime against humanity” and establishment of certain important definitions, such as “victims of racism,” were overshadowed.

 

In the run-up to the coming conference we are also seeing a massive instrumentalization of the accusation of racism for anti-Western, anti-democratic, and anti-Semitic purposes.

 

Thus only the trans-Atlantic slave trade is condemned, which amounts to a denial of all other forms of slave trade—especially the Arabic slave trade. This is an unacceptable falsification of history and a one-sided instrumentalization of the issue.

 

We are particularly worried by the fact that one of the preparatory committee’s central interests seems to be to demonize the Jewish state. Israel is the only state mentioned by name in the context of the Middle East conflict and branded as racist—despite the fact that the Middle East conflict is not a racial conflict. Mentioning the Middle East conflict suggests that the Israeli state behaves in a racist manner. Anyone familiar with the situation in Israel knows that it is not free of everyday discriminatory practices and segregationist tendencies. This can, however, be said in regard to most countries in the world, including Germany.  The problem must be dealt with in a suitable context and with a realistic assessment of its true magnitude. Focusing the anti-racism declaration on the Middle East conflict, and mentioning only this conflict within the context of the anti-racism discussion, is a renewed attempt to equate Zionism with racism through the back door of the anti-racism conference. Based on these considerations, we find that every mention of the conflict in the draft document would instrumentalize, pervert, and ultimately undermine the goal of combating racism. A declaration with this reference to the Middle East is unacceptable.

 

Further instrumentalization is found in the attempt to brand criticism of religion as racist, and thus criminalize it. This aims in particular to prevent critical discussion of Islam. As supporters of progressive discourse, we are convinced of the importance of addressing religion in enlightened and critical form. It is therefore self-evident that we reject all efforts to forbid or limit such critiques. We are aware of the widespread hostility to Muslims, which often utilizes racist ascriptions. We therefore criticize all forms of discrimination, especially so-called profiling, which links security measures by the state with certain religious and cultural affiliations. However, enlightened criticism of all religions must continue to be possible.

 

A UN anti-racism conference would have been an important opportunity to oppose the global spread of racism. We are convinced, however, that this chance has once again been lost through sabotage by some anti-democratic regimes that have come together in the conference’s preparatory committee. We support maintaining and deepening the anti-racism discourse. This time, this can only be achieved through retreat. With great regret, we call upon the federal government to refrain from participating in the planned conference.

 

Authors and signatories:

 

Alexander Hasgall (historian and journalist)

Sergey Lagodinsky (spokesman, Working Group Jewish Social Democrats)

Sebastian Brux (former member of national executive committee, Green Youth)

Claudia Husch (Young Socialists Neukölln)

Yordanos Tecklemikael

Fabian Weissbarth (member of executive committee, Young Socialists Berlin)

Benjamin-Christopher Krüger (national spokesman, BAK Shalom der linksjugend ['solid] (Federal Working Group Shalom left-wing youth, Left Party)

Rainhard Bütikofer (lead candidate for European elections, Alliance 90/ THE GREENS))

Peter Feldmann (spokesman, Working Group Jewish Social Democrats)

Kathrin Henneberger (spokeswoman, Green Youth national association)

Julia Löffler (political manager, Green Youth national association)

Max Löffler (spokesman, Green Youth national association)

Anne Knauf (state chair, Young Socialists Berlin)

Aziz Bozkurt (deputy state chair, Young Socialists Berlin)

Kevin Kühnert (deputy state chair, Young Socialists Berlin)

Elisa Rabe (deputy state chair, Young Socialists Berlin)

Daniela Schacht (deputy state chair, Young Socialists Berlin)

 

Institutions:

 

Working Group Jewish Social Democrats

Federal Working Group Shalom left-wing youth ['solid]

Young Socialists (Jusos) Berlin

 

 

Contact for the press:

 

e-mail: Durban2-Erklaerung@gmx.de

Tel.: +49 163 654 1739

 

 

 

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