(@ RACISM-LEON PRETORIA 13 February 2008 Sapa) LEON WARNS ABOUT CONFERENCE "HATE FEST" Democratic Alliance MP Tony Leon on Wednesday questioned how South Africa hoped to steer next year's Review Conference against Racism from being a "hate fest". Speaking at the Women's International Zionist Organisation (WISO) meeting in Cape Town, Leon said next year's conference could determine the path South Africa sets for itself in the world in the decades. "This is a crucial moment, I believe, for South Africa' s non-governmental organisations, steeped themselves in a tradition of rights' activism and a championing of international standards of democracy, to step up to the plate," he said. Leon said the previous World Conference against Racism, which was held in Durban in 2001, was "dismal" in advancing the fight against racism. The results of it were almost "nonexistent" and it was a slanted, sectional and sectarian conference, he said. "The question then arises how South Africa hopes to steer the conference in a direction of balance and probity, rather than leading it to degenerate again into a 'hate fest' of intolerance and imprudence," Leon said. President Thabo Mbeki announced in his State of the Nation speech that South Africa would host the review conference in Durban in 2009. "We are confident that, informed by their abhorrence of the scourge of racism and the devastating consequences it continues to exact on humanity, the governments and peoples of the world will work together with us to see that the Review Conference achieves its objectives." Many Western governments have already expressed unease about the conference and Canada has said outright that it would not attend. The United Nations preparatory committee for the conference is chaired by Libya and includes Cuba, Iran and Pakistan among its members.

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Avishkar Govender

eThekwini-Durban
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
SADC - AU

Help Make the UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL relevant and accountable to its mandates

 

maybe they should enhance and maintain the UN mandates !!

http://iflry.org/forums/thread/1209.aspx