THE United States, which pulled out of a UN conference on racism, ON Saturday criticized the conference’s final document as still flawed, but worth a look. ”We are looking forward to examining the final text when it becomes available and expect that will be a few days before we see the final text,” State Department representative Suan Pittman said. ”We are confident that our withdrawal was correct and hope that the decision had some effect on a better but still-flawed result.” Last-minute, hard-fought compromises on the Middle East and slavery allowed the final declaration to be adopted a day behind schedule. Delegates adopted a text after eight days of tough and acrimonious talks in Durban, South Africa, that recognised the Palestinians’ right to an independent state and described slavery as a crime against humanity. The two issues have dominated the UN World Conference Against Racism and prompted the withdrawal Monday by the United States and Israel, which rejected originally proposed anti-Israeli language that they described as ”hateful.” – Sapa
Wednesday September 5, 2001