AJC Lauds Australia's Decision to Opt Out of "Durban III"

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Aug 23, 2011, 10:31 ET

NEW YORK, Aug. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC warmly welcomed the decision of Australia not to participate in the tenth anniversary commemoration of the Durban World Conference on Racism, slated to be held at the UN in New York next month.

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The spokesman for Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced today that: "Australia has decided not to attend the High Level Meeting on the Durban Declaration and Plan of Action [Durban III - New York, 22 September]. Australia remained involved in the early stages of consultation on the High Level meeting in order to oppose attempts to endorse extreme language or explicit references to the text of the Durban Declaration. But we have not been convinced that the High Level Meeting will avoid unbalanced criticism of Israel and the airing of anti-Semitic views. This occurred at the original Durban World Conference on Racism (2001) and the subsequent Review Conference (2009). Australia did not attend either conference. Nor would Australia be able to support a meeting that chooses to reaffirm the original Durban Declaration, as appears likely."

Australia becomes the seventh nation to opt out of Durban III. The others are Canada, Czech Republic, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, and the United States.

"AJC applauds the principled decision of the Australian government, led by Prime Minister Gillard, to skip next month's event," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "Australia is a vibrant, multicultural country committed to the struggle against racism. Like the other nations that have decided not to participate, however, Canberra understood clearly that this UN initiative had been hijacked at its inception ten years ago by those seeking to turn it into yet another forum for bashing Israel. Our hope is that other democratic nations will consider the laudable position of Australia, and the other six countries, and reach a similar conclusion, thus further denying the September 22nd gathering the legitimacy it seeks."

AJC has had a partnership with the Melbourne-based Australia/Israel Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) for two decades. Earlier this month, an AJC delegation traveled to Australia for meetings, together with AIJAC, in Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney. They met with Prime Minister Gillard, Acting Foreign Minister Craig Emerson and other top officials. This was the third AJC visit to Australia in recent years.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee