Preparing for Durban II

The recent UN resolution that calls for “combating the defamation of religions” is just one front in a strategic effort mounted by the OIC through the United Nations. The Organization of the Islamic Conference has a ten-year plan for eradicating Islamophobia in the world, and the UN is the preferred venue for its implementation.

With 57 members, the OIC carries considerable clout in the UN. Although not a majority — there are 192 member states in the United Nations — the Islamic countries can vote and lobby as a bloc, and pull along many of the Third World nations such as Venezuela or Cuba, who like nothing better than taking jabs at the United States and Israel.

The UN is in the process of making final preparations for “Durban II”, next April’s follow-up to the notorious Durban conference of September 2001. The push to outlaw the defamation of religions is part of a larger platform which aims to eliminate “racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance at all levels”. The all-purpose bogeyman of racism is a convenient tool which can be used to suppress any criticism of Islam and overrule objections to sharia.

Eye on the UN sent us an alert about the provisional agenda for Durban II. I did some research on related UN activities, working from a list of UN documents outlining the Durban program of action. I picked the six most recent reports from various UN committees, plus the provisional agenda, and went through them all (see the bottom of this post for the full list of documents used).

Like most documents produced by large supranational bureaucracies, these UN reports are stupefyingly boring. Reading through them is almost more than a mortal can do, and one presumes that this is exactly what the authors of these works intended. It’s the purloined-letter strategy applied to an international bureaucratic power grab: all that you need to know is right there in plain sight. To get to it, however, you have to wade through all those hectares of bumf without falling asleep.

Here are a couple of examples of what the reader faces in these documents:

…the centrality of resource mobilization, effective global partnership and international cooperation in the context of paragraphs 157 and 158 of the Durban Programme of Action for the successful realization of commitments undertaken at the World Conference, and to this end emphasizes the importance of the mandate of the group of independent eminent experts on the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, especially in mobilizing the necessary political will for the successful implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action;…

And:

By its decision PC.3/9 of 17 October 2008 entitled “Continuation of the preparatory process for the Durban Review Conference”, the Preparatory Committee established this intersessional open-ended intergovernmental working group and decided that it shall meet for a total of up to 10 working days in advance of the third substantive session of the Preparatory Committee, including a meeting on 27 November 2008, the first session to be held from 19 to 23 January 2009, and the second session on 6 to 9 April 2009 or at any other date agreed by the working group.

Does that make everything clear?

These documents, however, are loaded with nuggets of information. Let’s start with some bullet points from the Provisional Agenda (Document #1):

Review of progress and assessment of implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action by all stakeholders at the national, regional and international levels, including the assessment of contemporary manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance:

• Sources, causes, forms and contemporary manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
  
• Victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
  
• Measures of prevention, education and protection aimed at the eradication of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance at all levels;
  
• Provision of effective remedies, recourse, redress, and compensatory and other measures at all levels;
  
• Strategies to achieve full and effective equality, including international cooperation and enhancement of the United Nations and other international mechanisms in combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

The litany of evil — “racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance” is repeated over and over again in these documents. The most significant phrase is the open-ended “related intolerance”. As you’ll see, this is the door that admits the full-fledged suppression of free speech, because “related intolerance” includes any hatred based on religion. It links up with the combating of defamation of religion, and thus mandates the prohibition of any criticism of Islam.

For the rest of this analysis I’ll use the Report of the Third Committee (Document #2), which seems to be the latest version of a series of similar reports. For the last few months, various committees and subgroups have been weighing in with their own versions and suggested amendments, and I assume that there will be further revisions before Durban II rolls out the canapés and white wine next April. But for our purposes, this will serve as the definitive document of what lies in store for us.

First, from the preface:
- - - - - - - - -

Reiterating that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and have the potential to contribute constructively to the development and well-being of their societies, and that any doctrine of racial superiority is scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust and dangerous and must be rejected, together with theories that attempt to determine the existence of separate human races,

This starts out just fine — all human beings are born free and equal. But then the authors start defining what is and isn’t scientifically proven. Do we really want the bureaucrats of the UN telling us what is scientifically true or false?

And even if the “doctrine of racial superiority” could somehow be disproved, why should believing in it be a crime? Is it a crime to believe the earth is flat, or that thunderstorms are caused by jinni?

Another point of interest:

Convinced that racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance manifest themselves in a differentiated manner for women and girls and may be among the factors leading to a deterioration in their living conditions, poverty, violence, multiple forms of discrimination and the limitation or denial of their human rights, and recognizing the need to integrate a gender perspective into relevant policies, strategies and programmes of action against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia,

What is this getting at? Is this mere feminist boilerplate? Or is it softening us up for a rationalization of the differential treatment of women under sharia?

And now for select numbered items from the rest of the report. I’ve interspersed them with my own comments in bold.

4.		Stresses that States and international organizations have a responsibility to ensure that measures taken in the struggle against terrorism do not discriminate in purpose or effect on grounds of race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin, and urges all States to rescind or refrain from all forms of racial profiling;
		This is the rationale for exempting Muslims from any special scrutiny at the airport and in counter-terrorism investigations. It guarantees that every time a Muslim is investigated on suspicion of terrorism, lawsuits and other legal actions will be launched “under the provisions of international law”.
6.		Also recognizes that racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance occur on the grounds of race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin and that victims can suffer multiple or aggravated forms of discrimination based on other related grounds, such as sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, social origin, property, birth or other status;
		Notice that “religion” has crept into the mix here. And so has “political opinion”. But do you think my political opinion — namely, that Islam is a political ideology disguised as a religion — will be protected? Or does the “no defamation of religions” stricture trump all other opinions?
10.		Calls upon all States, in accordance with the commitments undertaken in paragraph 147 of the Durban Programme of Action, to take all necessary measures to combat the incitement to violence motivated by racial hatred, including through misuse of print, audio-visual and electronic media and new communication technologies, and, in collaboration with service providers, to promote the use of such technologies, including the Internet, to contribute to the fight against racism, in conformity with international standards of freedom of expression and taking all necessary measures to guarantee that right;
		This is a big one: it provides the framework for a UN-mandated crackdown on the internet. Gates of Vienna criticizes Islam, and that constitutes a “related intolerance” equivalent to racism. Therefore what we do is actionable under the provisions of Durban II, and our governments — assuming they intend to honor their treaty obligations to the UN, in observance of “international law” — will be required to take action against our “racist” speech.
11.		Encourages all States to include in their educational curricula and social programmes at all levels, as appropriate, knowledge of and tolerance and respect for all cultures, civilizations, religions, peoples and countries, as well as information on the follow-up to and implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action;
		The interference of the federal government in education is not good enough: now the UN will have a voice in our schools’ curricula. As if there isn’t already plenty of Multiculturalism larded into our school materials — from now on UNESCO or some similar organization will be writing the textbooks for our schoolchildren.
12.		Stresses the responsibility of States to mainstream a gender perspective in the design and development of prevention, education and protection measures aimed at the eradication of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance at all levels, to ensure that they effectively target the distinct situations of women and men;
		Here comes the “gender perspective” again. What in the world does this mean?
27.		Welcomes the steps taken by numerous Governments, in particular the elaboration and implementation of national action plans to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and steps taken by national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations, towards the full implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, and affirms this trend as a demonstration of commitment to the elimination of all scourges of racism at the national level;
		The phrase to note in this item is “non-governmental organizations”. NGOs lie outside the formal UN structure, but do much of the grunt work on behalf of the UN’s agenda. They are funded in part by national governments and by large (leftist) philanthropic organizations, and act according to a trans-national imperative with little accountability. These are the groups that will be pushing the Durban II program all over the world.
29.		Calls upon all States to formulate and implement without delay, at the national, regional and international levels, policies and plans of action to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, including their gender-based manifestations;
		Get with the program, people!
38.		Requests the Secretary-General to provide the necessary resources for the effective fulfilment of the mandates of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, the group of independent eminent experts on the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards;
		“Experts on People of African Descent”? What are they? Who certified them? What are the criteria for their expertise?
45.		Recognizes with deep concern the increase in anti-Semitism, Christianophobia and Islamophobia in various parts of the world, as well as the emergence of racial and violent movements based on racism and discriminatory ideas directed against Arab, Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities, as well as all religious communities, communities of people of African descent, communities of people of Asian descent, communities of indigenous people and other communities;
		This is a joke, considering that Durban II is shaping up to be a veritable orgy of anti-Semitism. And “Christianophobia”? Give me a break! When’s the last time you heard anyone accused of Christianophobia? Make no mistake about it: only one of these Multicultural sins will be punished, and that’s Islamophobia.
49.		Requests the Special Rapporteur to continue giving particular attention to the negative impact of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance on the full enjoyment of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights by national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, immigrant populations, asylum-seekers and refugees;

Refer to the list of Durban-related documents, and you’ll see what we’re up against.

Legions of UN bureaucrats toil day and night to churn this stuff out. They are lavishly funded by the UN — which means by the taxpayers of the member states, with the United States prominent among them.

Their resources are virtually limitless. They can conjure this nonsense out of thin air indefinitely. Their opponents, on the other hand, are mostly volunteers toiling in obscurity. Based on the disparity of financial backing, our chances are not good.

So we need all the help we can get. If you have the time and the stomach, slog through these documents, spread the word, and let your elected representatives know how you feel.

Denmark and several other European countries are considering boycotting Durban II. If enough Western nations stay away — if the working papers are signed only by Libya, Cuba, Senegal, Saudi Arabia, Laos, and the like — then the results will be meaningless, and their impact will be minimal.

The UN is an evil monstrosity. No civilized country should be a part of it.


Relevant UN documents

1.		Durban Review Conference: Provisional Agenda and Annotations Thereto Document name: Annotated_agenda271108.doc
2.		Elimination of racism and racial discrimination: Report of the Third Committee Document name: N0863757.pdf
3.		International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination Document name: N0860667.pdf
4.		Global efforts for the total elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action Document name: N0860691.pdf
5.		Promotion and protection of human rights: human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms Document name: N0859738.pdf
6.		Elimination of racism and racial discrimination: elimination of racism and racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance Document name: N0858951.pdf
7.		Elimination of racism and racial discrimination: comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action Document name: N0858662.pdf