Durban | Thursday
THE controversial NGO declaration, which has been rejected by 77 NGOs from 37 countries in Europe, North America and south-east Asia as well as by five prominent human rights groups, was handed to the World Conference Against Racism on Wednesday.
The NGO Declaration and Plan of Action will be included in the final conference declaration, together with the Youth Summit Declaration.
The language in the document pertaining to the situation in the Middle East such as genocide and equating Zionism to racism has been described as the worst ”anti-Jewish document since the Nazi era” by the United States and Israelis.
The two countries withdrew from the WCAR on Monday, citing ”racist language” contained in the conference draft declaration and plan of action.
On Wednesday, Australia also voiced its disappointment with the NGO document and the language used, in particular on the Middle East situation.
”My government deplores them as extremely unhelpful and damaging to achieving peace in the Middle East,” an Australian WCAR delegate said in the plenary session where he spoke after the NGO document was handed over.
On Monday, 36 NGOs from Eastern and Central Europe rejected the document because of the manner in which it was drafted and because of the language.
”We must emphasise that the language of the chapter on Palestine as well as the deliberate distortions made to the chapter on anti-Semitism is extremely intolerant, disrespectful and contrary to the very spirit of WCAR.”
By Wednesday, the number of NGOs rejecting the document had grown to 77.
At a press conference, the NGOs said they could not allow the situation to continue where it appeared that everyone supported the document.
United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson told a press briefing on Tuesday she had been disturbed by the ”inappropriate context of the NGO Forum Declaration”.
”For the first time I can’t recommend to delegates to pay close attention to the document like I normally do, because I cannot accept words like ‘genocide’.” She added, however, that the document did contain a number of positive aspects.
The 77 NGOs that rejected the document on Tuesday night handed over their objections to Robinson.
Five of the biggest international non-governmental organisations also distanced themselves from the NGO declaration because of language describing Israel as an apartheid state.
NGOs that do not support the document include Physicians for Human Rights, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights and the International Service for Human Rights.
SA National NGO Coalition president Mercia Andrews said on Wednesday that those who rejected the document had to clarify what they were distancing themselves from.
”Are they also distancing themselves on the issues of reparations and issues of underdevelopment in Africa?”
She said the issue of Palestine and Israel had been blown out of proportion and had caused a clear divide between north and south.
Even the European caucus had split between white and black over the issue.
”Why are only the Europeans distancing themselves?”
Andrews added that there had been more than 4 000 NGOs and 6 500 delegates at the NGO Forum who were represented by 40 caucuses.
The Jewish Caucus, the Roma Caucus and the international NGO caucus did not vote on the declaration, Andrews said. – Sapa