Target:
President Barack Obama
Sponsored by:
Human Rights
Project at the Urban Justice Center
www.hrpujc.org/
See also:
http://hrpujc.org/documents/FactSheetDurban_005.pdf
http://hrpujc.org/documents/DurbanReviewTalkingPoints.pdf
Please sign a petition to President Obama urging the
United States to participate in the Durban Review Conference and its remaining
preparatory meetings. The United States is currently refusing to participate in
the Durban Review Conference, a United Nations Conference to discuss the
elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerances. The objections raised by the Obama Administration have
been addressed but it is still boycotting the meeting. There is no reason
for the Obama Administration to refuse to engage in dialogue with the
global community at the world's largest forum on race. We need the
Obama Administration to engage in the Durban Review Conference now.
Please sign a petition to President Obama urging the United States to
participate in the Durban Review Conference and its remaining preparatory
meetings. The United States is currently refusing to participate in the Durban
Review Conference, a United Nations Conference to discuss the elimination of
racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerances. The
objections raised by the Obama Administration have been addressed but it
is still boycotting the meeting. There is no reason for the Obama
Administration to refuse to engage in dialogue with the global community
at the world's largest forum on race. We need the Obama Administration
to engage in the Durban Review Conference now.
We, the undersigned individuals and organizations dedicated to fighting
racial injustice and promoting human rights domestically and globally received
your recent decision to boycott the Durban Review Conference with profound
disappointment. Recognizing that your stated objections to the conference have
been addressed, we are confident that your Administration will be reversing its
decision in time to participate in the conference and its remaining preparatory
meetings scheduled to take place in April.
Refusing to Discuss Racism on a Global Platform is Inconsistent
with a Policy of Engagement with the International Community
As you know, the Durban Review Conference is one of the most important
international platforms for discussing the elimination of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerances. Given the brutal
history of slavery and Jim Crow in the United States, your Administration has
much to contribute to this discussion. A boycott would be inconsistent
with your policy of engagement with the international community. A policy of
engagement requires discussion with governments and institutions even if one
does not agree with them as demonstrated by your statement last week to
the people and leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran that your
Administration is committed to seeking %u201Cengagement that is honest and
grounded in mutual respect." How can your Administration engage in any
manner with the international community if it has no representation at the
discussion table?
The United States Should be Fighting for the Strongest
Protections against Racism
The Durban Review process has offered a sophisticated and comprehensive
framework for advancing racial equality including concrete guidelines for
addressing the link between poverty, racism, sexism, and multiple forms of
discrimination; advancing migrant rights; addressing youth violence; providing
access to quality education, health care, and adequate housing; and advancing
transparent governance in the fight for racial equality. We expect your
Administration will not only engage in the process but will also work to ensure
that the final outcome offers the strongest and most comprehensive platform for
eliminating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerances. This is critical for progress in the domestic and global
fight for racial and economic justice.
Specific Objections Raised do not Warrant a
Boycott
We are concerned by the reasons put forth by your Administration for its
refusal to engage in the conference. Notwithstanding that changes have been
made to accommodate your Administration%u2019s specific objections, we do not
believe the objections warrant a decision to boycott the conference. As we
mentioned before, you recently demonstrated your Administration%u2019s
willingness to engage in dialogue with governments that you do not always agree
with such as the Islamic Republic of Iran, and we applaud that decision. Why
would your Administration pursue a different policy now that it is time to
discuss how to fight and eliminate racism for people in the United States and
the rest of the world? How can the United States affirm freedom of expression -
even for hate speech - if it refuses even to be present to listen to the views
of others?
The United States Must Not Attempt to Ignore our History of
Slavery
We are troubled that your Administration pushed for the withdrawal of
language related to reparations, reference to the transatlantic slave trade as
a crime against humanity, and the overall weakening of the efforts related to
people of African Descent. We recall your own speech on March 18, 2008
that we need to %u201Cremind ourselves that so many of the
disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly
traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under
the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.%u201D We urge you to
consider the bill H.R. 40 reintroduced by Representative Conyers in January
calling for the establishment of a commission to examine the institution of
slavery and current forms of racial discrimination, as well as to make
recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies. We believe it will
help illuminate the importance of discussing these issues both in the United
States and globally.
The United States Must Engage the Global Fight for Racial Justice
in Good Faith
It is regrettable that your Administration made its current decision on
whether to participate in the Durban Review Conference based on
one meeting. One meeting is inadequate for meaningful
engagement in the process especially since the process has been ongoing since
2006 not including the time and preparation put into the 2001 World Conference
Against Racism (WCAR). The actions of your Administration leave the impression
that you are willing to ignore an important opportunity to advance racial
equality if it is politically expedient.
The Current Position of Non-Participation is worse than that of
the Bush Administration
A boycott by your Administration would be the first time in
recent history that the United States has refused to participate in a United
Nations conference. This position is even more radical than that of the Bush
Administration%u2019s as the former Administration at least attended the
preceding conference on race before withdrawing. We hope that your
Administration will not squander this important opportunity to push for racial
equality on the global stage and will instead send a diverse and high-level
delegation including representatives from the non-governmental
community.
A United States Refusal to Discuss Racism Encourages Other
Countries to do the same
The current decision by your Administration not only affects the United
States, but also provides cover for other countries that are reluctant to
engage in a meaningful discussion on advancing racial equality to boycott the
discussion as well. A United States boycott would have a long-term damaging
effect on the global fight against racism.
In closing, we are reminded again of a speech you made a year ago insisting
that race is an issue that this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We
applauded your thought-provoking speech then as it echoed basic American values
of equality and fairness, and reminded us of the importance of engaging in
mature and constructive dialogue on race. We urge you not to ignore this global
discussion on race. This is an issue that is extremely important for making
genuine progress in the United States and advancing peace worldwide. It is also
a priority for many of us who supported your campaign for change. Again, we
look forward to your timely and substantive engagement in the Durban Review
Conference.
An Open Letter to President Obama
From United Against Racism
Attend the Upcoming United Nations Durban Review
Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and related
intolerance
http://www.unitedagainstracism.net/open-letter-obama/
January 20, 2009
Dear President Barack Obama,
As people of conscience in the United States struggling
for a socially, economically and ecologically healthier world free of racism,
colonialism, and militarism, we write to respectfully urge you to attend the
upcoming Durban Review Conference on Racism from 20-24 April 2009.
Your election marks a historic moment in a nation founded
upon the slavery and genocide of people of color. We, along with millions
everywhere, are full of hope that this legacy will finally be redressed.
First Nation, people of African descent, working class people, immigrants to
this country, and people from colonized countries throughout the world all have
suffered for far too long. We hope that your inauguration will usher a new dawn
on which the US government will respond to calls to tackle historic and current
injustices that stand in the way of change.
You were brought to power by an unprecedented chorus of
grassroots voices, a unique gathering of activism and resources. We honor your
experiences as a grassroots organizer working for change in the lives of
working class people of color. Like many others who voted for you (or wanted to
but couldn’t because we are not US citizens), we were inspired by your
call for dialogue on foreign policy, and your opposition to the politics of
torture and preemptive wars. We rejoiced in your victory – our
victory – against racism and war.
Your participation in the Durban Review Conference against
Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and related intolerance (Geneva,
Switzerland, April 2009) will reaffirm your commitment to these principles. We
are aware that great pressure is being exerted on your administration to
boycott the Durban Review Conference; that congress has passed a resolution in
support of this boycott. Lobbyists on behalf of the State of Israel are wrong
to claim that the first Durban Conference was anti-Semitic because it held
Israel accountable for its racist laws and policies. Nothing could be farther
from the truth: anti-Semitism today is fueled by U.S. policies that apply
double standards in its relationship to Israel and allow Israel to violate
international law with impunity. The failure to distinguish between criticizing
Israeli government policies and anti-Semitism on the one hand, and
perpetuating, the misleading image of Jews as united in support of
Israel’s unconscionable violence against the Palestinian people, on the
other, feeds into anti-Jewish hatred and incites anti-Semitism today.
Israel must obey international law like any other state.
Israel has to end its occupation of Palestinian lands, its dismemberment of the
country into Bantustans, its apartheid-like laws and policies against Arab
people, and its theft of Palestinian land and resources. Only recently, the
majority of the international community has raised its voice in protest as
Israel waged a savage war against the Palestinian people in Gaza. The U.S. has
for too long condoned Israel’s disregard for international law,
settlement buildup, and bad faith negotiations. There has never been a more
urgent time for the U.S. to join the international community to effect a
serious change.
We stand in with the world’s majority who demand an
end to the Israeli siege on Gaza and who had the courage to break ties with
Israel—the leadership of Latin America, the Arab World, and Turkey; the
UN General Assembly and its President, D’escoto Brockmann; Sir Gerald
Kaufmann from the British House of Commons, the Congress of South African Trade
Unions, and the millions of voices demanding that Israel comply with
international law.
To ignore Durban is to align with those who justify
Israel’s racism, human rights violations, occupation and apartheid-like
policies; and to allow its siege of Gaza. A boycott of the Durban global
dialogue towards a united and principled stand against racism could only
send the wrong message that the U.S. is not committed t to overcoming its
history of racism and the impact that history has had in Africa, Asia, and
Latin America, as well as on communities of color within the United States. A
United States boycott of the Durban Review will squarely put the U.S. in
opposition to the global aspirations to transform current conditions of racism
and xenophobia.
US boycott of the Durban Review will precipitate a speedy
disillusionment in the US and around the world with the commitment of your
administration to developing policy that is qualitatively different from those
of the previous administration. Ignoring the message of Durban would also
undermine and alienate the organizers of the conference who are looking to the
principled engagement of your administration against those whose power is based
on promoting and enforcing racist divisions within their populations. We
hope that your administration can show that the United States is ready to
participate in international dialogue aimed at ending its legacy of
colonization, slavery, racism and xenophobia. We are conscious that,
because of your history and experience, you are well aware of the nature and
impact of US policies in the Global South.
From amplifying the devastating impact of Hurricane
Katrina, through the terrorizing of immigrant communities, and to the continued
destruction of indigenous lands, peoples and cultures, harmful U.S. government
policies also reflect the culpability of the United States in perpetuating
racism and injustice throughout the world. The lavish funding for war and the
generous military and political aid to regimes that disrespect human rights
have been part and parcel of a governmental outlook that is oblivious to the
needs of health care, education, employment and housing.
To fulfill the hope you have inspired and which brought
you to office, we urge you and your Administration to:
Participate in the Durban Review Conference in Geneva from
20-24 of April 2009.
Consider deeply felt and urgent demands of the Durban
Review for US acknowledgement and repudiation of past racist crimes and
injustices, in particular against First Nations and African people, as well as
of current racist and xenophobic policies enforced by the US within and beyond
its borders.
Engage in critical dialogue on the de-institutionalization
of racism within the US, and the ways in which war economy can be diverted into
peace economy.
Shift the US policies toward recognizing the legitimate
concerns of participants from communities devastated by war and occupation and
listen with an open mind to their demands for justice, dignity and peace.
In your speech at a Howard University Convocation in 2007,
you asked the audience to:
Be strong and have courage in the face of injustice. Be
strong and have courage in the face of prejudice and hatred. Be strong and have
courage in the face of joblessness and helplessness and hopelessness. Be strong
and have courage, in the face of our doubts and fears, in the face of
skepticism, in the face of cynicism, in the face of a mighty river.
We ask you to be strong in the face of these challenges
and to trust the strength of your grassroots base. We ask you to stand up
against those who would keep this country and the world shackled by to policies
that harm us all. Stand with us as we join hands to support you as a President
of a United States that can leave behind racism, colonial oppression and war
and that rejoins the world community for justice, dignity and peace.
Original Signatories:
Cindy Wiesner, national organizer, Grassroots Global
Justice
Darryl Johnson, staff, American Friends Service Committee
Gabriel Camacho, staff, American Friends Service Committee
Jaime Veve, organizer, NYC Transit Workers Union
Kali Akuno, national organizer, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement
Mariana Viturro, international organizer, IJAN & co-director, St.
Peter’s Housing Committee
Merrie Najimy, staff American-Arab anti-Discrimination Committee
Monadel Herzallah, national organizer, USPCN
Monamie Maulik, staff, Desis Rising Up & Moving
Nadeen Elshorafa, member, Arab Resource and Organizing Center
Noura Erakat, national coordinating committee member, USPCN
Rabab Ibrahim Abdulhadi-AMED, professor, San Francisco State University
Sara Kershnar, international organizer, IJAN
Tammy Luu Bang, organizer, Labor Community Strategy Center
