World Conference against Racism

2001 Conference

The 2001 conference was held in South Africa under UN auspices in September 2001, ending on September 8.

The conference, entitled "World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance" was ostensibly aimed at eliminated unfair treatment of one group against another.

In reality, several critics charged, it was intended as an attack on Israel. Both Australia and Canada made statements accusing the conference of hypocrisy. For example,

"Canada is still here today only because we wanted to have our voice decry the attempts at this Conference to de-legitimize the State of Israel and to dishonour the history and suffering of the Jewish people. We believe, and we have said in the clearest possible terms, that it was inappropriate - wrong - to address the Palestinian-Israel conflict in this forum. We have said, and will continue to say, that anything - any process, any declaration, any language - presented in any forum that does not serve to advance a negotiated peace that will bring security, dignity and respect to the people of the region is - and will be - unacceptable to Canada." ([1] (http://www.unhchr.ch/huridocda/huridoca.nsf/(Symbol)/A.Conf.189.12.En?Opendocument), page 119)

For this reason, both the United States and Israel withdrew from WCAR.