Monday, 20 April 2009

 


NGO Monitor
April 20, 2009
NGO Monitor
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 Promoting Accountability in the Arab-Israeli Conflict
 

Durban II Update: Cascade of countries withdraw from conference

Geneva - As the Durban Review Conference opens, a significant number of Western countries have announced that they will not attend the event. The list now includes: Canada, Israel, Italy, the United States, the Netherlands, Australia, Germany, New Zealand and reportedly Sweden and Poland. This seriously delegitimizes the Durban process and the "Durban Strategy" of demonizing and isolating Israel internationally.  The intensive campaigns by NGOs such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International to press the US, Canada and other democracies to participate in this discredited UN framework have failed.  The appearance of Iranian leader Ahmadinejad today will further highlight the destructive impact of the Durban process.
NGO Monitor is on the scene and will report on important developments.  Frequent updates on Twitter ("ngomonitor") and the NGO Monitor Blog.
See Prof. Gerald Steinberg's articles for detailed analysis of the proceedings: