The Netherlands have announced that they will join Canada and Israel in boycotting the UN's Durban II conference on racism in 2009 unless draft documents disproportionately critical of Israel are amended. The EU (of which the Netherlands is a member state) is considering its position; its own watchdog agency on racism has lobbied against pulling out, arguing that 'much remains to be done to fight racism globally and regionally'. Why attending this conference will fight racism is beyond me.
Meanwhile, 24 prominent Americans signed a statement published as a full-page ad in the Washington Times urging the United States to boycott the meeting as well. In 2001, the Durban I conference in South Africa was such a hate fest that Secretary of State Colin Powell walked out. Let's hope the Obama administration will decide to stay away.
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