IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1361 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States 

should lead a high-level diplomatic effort to defeat the campaign by 

some members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to divert 

the United Nation’s Durban Review Conference from a review of problems in their own and other countries by attacking Israel, promoting 

anti-Semitism, and undermining the Universal Charter of Human Rights 

and to ensure that the Durban Review Conference serves as a forum 

to review commitments to combat all forms of racism. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 22, 2008 

Mr. BERMAN (for himself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. 

WATERS, and Mr. SCOTT of Georgia) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

the United States should lead a high-level diplomatic 

effort to defeat the campaign by some members of the 

Organization of the Islamic Conference to divert the 

United Nation’s Durban Review Conference from a review of problems in their own and other countries by 

attacking Israel, promoting anti-Semitism, and undermining the Universal Charter of Human Rights and to 

ensure that the Durban Review Conference serves as 

a forum to review commitments to combat all forms 

of racism. 


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•HRES 1361 IH 

Whereas the United Nations is undertaking preparations for 

a 2009 Durban Review Conference on the implementation of commitments made as part of the 2001 World 

Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa; 

Whereas the 2001 World Conference Against Racism marked 

an important recognition of the historic wounds caused 

by slavery, colonialism, and related ongoing racism and 

racial discrimination, including the recognition of the 

transatlantic slave trade as a crime against humanity, 

and that people of African descent, people of Asian descent, and indigenous peoples who were victims of these 

acts continue to face discrimination and marginalization 

as a direct consequence; 

Whereas the 2001 World Conference Against Racism also undertook historical efforts to recognize and address ongoing racism and racial discrimination against persons of 

African descent, Jewish, Muslim, caste, indigenous, Roma 

and Sinti, and other communities, anti-migrant xenophobia, and incitement to racial and religious hatred; 

Whereas the 2001 World Conference Against Racism and its 

achievements were overshadowed and diminished as some 

participants in the conference, in particular during the 

Non-Governmental Organization Forum, called the 

‘‘NGO Forum Against Racism’’ (NGO Forum), misused 

human rights language to promote hate, anti-Semitism, 

incitement, and divert the focus of the conference from 

problems within their own countries to a focus on Israel, 

leading the conference to be discredited; 

Whereas the NGO Forum produced a document called the 

‘‘NGO Declaration’’ that contained abusive language 

branding Israel an ‘‘apartheid state’’ that is guilty of 

‘‘racist crimes against humanity’’; 


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•HRES 1361 IH 

Whereas the United States withdrew its delegation from the 

2001 World Conference on Racism, a decision that Secretary of State Colin Powell explained by stating that 

‘‘you do not combat racism by conferences that produce 

declarations containing hateful language, some of which 

is a throwback to the days of ‘Zionism equals racism’; or 

supports the idea that we have made too much of the 

Holocaust; or suggests that apartheid exists in Israel; or 

that singles out only one country in the world—Israel— 

for censure and abuse’’; 

Whereas the atmosphere of anti-Semitism at the NGO Forum 

was dubbed as ‘‘hateful, even racist’’ by former High 

Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson and as 

‘‘disgraceful’’ by Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad of 

South Africa, who also affirmed that parts of the 2001 

World Conference Against Racism were ‘‘hijacked and 

used by some with an anti-Israeli agenda to turn it into 

an anti-Semitic event’’; 

Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Human 

Rights, who served as Secretary General of the 2001 

World Conference Against Racism, refused to accept the 

NGO Declaration, and some leading civil and human 

rights organizations and activists criticized the repugnant 

anti-Semitism and demonization of Israel in the NGO 

Forum, and the harassment of Jewish participants it fomented; 

Whereas despite recognizing the Holocaust and increased 

anti-Semitism, the official government declaration adopted by the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, the 

‘‘Durban Declaration and Plan of Action’’, highlighted 

the ‘‘plight of the Palestinian people under foreign occupation’’, and in so doing singled out one regional conflict 


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•HRES 1361 IH 

for discussion in a biased way, and wrongly branded 

Israel’s treatment of Palestinians as racist; 

Whereas, at the first organizing session of the planned 2009 

Durban Review Conference on August 27, 2007, in Geneva, Switzerland, Ambassador Masood Khan of Pakistan, 

speaking ‘‘on behalf of the OIC’’, described the concerns 

being expressed about the Durban Review Conference as 

a ‘‘smear campaign’’, and made it clear that the Organization of the Islamic Conference’s (OIC) intention is to 

make so-called new forms of racism a centerpiece of the 

conference agenda, urging also that ‘‘[t]he Conference 

should move the spotlight on the continued plight of Palestinian people and non-recognition of their inalienable 

right to self-determination’’; 

Whereas many OIC member states have already made clear 

their determination to go beyond the comprehensive list 

of items covered by the Durban Declaration and Plan of 

Action to force consideration by the 2009 Durban Review 

Conference of a global blasphemy code that would legitimize arbitrary restrictions of religious freedom, freedom 

of conscience, and the freedom of expression and opinion 

in the name of protecting religions from ‘‘defamation’’ 

and ‘‘blasphemy’’; 

Whereas the Human Rights Council agreed in Resolution 3/ 

2 on December 8, 2006, that the 2009 Durban Review 

Conference would, like other United Nations review conferences, focus on countries’ implementation of the many 

commitments to fight racism and discrimination already 

affirmed in the official governmental Durban Declaration 

and Plan of Action and that there will be ‘‘no renegotiation of the existing agreements contained therein’’; 


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•HRES 1361 IH 

Whereas, following the August 27, 2007, 2009 Durban Review Conference preparatory meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, countries, including the United States, France, and 

Israel, have stated that, unless the direction of the Conference is refocused, the process will not be credible or 

worthy of support; 

Whereas the High Commissioner for Human Rights was 

named Secretary-General of the 2009 Durban Review 

Conference; 

Whereas, in advance of determining the modalities, format, 

duration, and venue of the 2009 Durban Review Conference, the OIC and G–77 member states requested the 

United Nations General Assembly to fund a $7.2 million 

preparatory process of international, regional, and national meetings; 

Whereas, on November 28, 2007, 45 United Nations Member 

States, including the United States, joined together in 

the Third Committee (Resolution A/C/3/62/L.65/Rev.) to 

vote against a resolution that contradicted the 2009 Durban Review Conference preparatory committee consensus 

agreements about the framework of the Durban Review 

Conference, its scope, and sources of funding; 

Whereas, on December 21, 2007, 40 United Nations Member 

States, including the United States, joined together in 

the Fifth Committee (Resolution A/C.5/62/21) to vote 

against a resolution that authorized up to $6.8 million to 

fund the 2009 Durban Review Conference preparatory 

process; 

Whereas the United States has decided to withhold from its 

2008 funding for the United Nations an amount equivalent to the United States share of the United Nations 


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•HRES 1361 IH 

Human Rights Council-administered preparatory process 

for the 2009 Durban Review Conference; and 

Whereas, since the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, 

the need for a credible global forum to review United Nations Member States’ efforts to combat racism remains 

urgent given the continuing scourge of racism and related 

violence, including discrimination against persons of African descent, Jewish, Muslim, caste, indigenous, Roma 

and Sinti, and other communities, anti-migrant xenophobia, and incitement to racial and religious hatred: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) acknowledges that the 2001 World Con3 ference Against Racism marked an important rec4 ognition of the historic wounds caused by slavery, 

5 colonialism, and related ongoing racism and racial 

6 discrimination, including the recognition of the 

7 transatlantic slave trade as a crime against human8 ity, and that people of African descent, people of 

9 Asian descent, and indigenous peoples who were vic10 tims of these acts continue to face discrimination 

11 and marginalization as a direct consequence; 

12 (2) notes that the Human Rights Council 

13 agreed in Resolution 3/2 on December 8, 2006, that 

14 the 2009 Durban Review Conference would like 

15 other United Nations review conferences, focus on 

16 countries’ implementation of the many commitments 

17 to fight racism and discrimination already affirmed 


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•HRES 1361 IH 

1 in the official government Durban Declaration and 

2 Plan of Action and that there will be ‘‘no renegoti3 ation of the existing agreements contained therein’’; 

4 (3) commends the Governments of the United 

5 States, France, Canada, Israel, the United Kingdom, 

6 and the Netherlands that have declared their inten7 tions not to participate in any United Nations Dur8 ban Review Conference that supplants a discussion 

9 of country commitments to combat contemporary 

10 forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, 

11 and related intolerance with a campaign that pro12 motes hate, undermines human rights standards, 

13 and damages the credibility of the United Nations 

14 itself; 

15 (4) calls on the President to urge other heads 

16 of state to condition participation in the 2009 Dur17 ban Review Conference process on concrete action by 

18 the United Nations and United Nations Member 

19 States to ensure that it and they will reject any ef20 fort to inject anti-Semitism, hatred, and discrimina21 tion in all its forms onto the agenda of the Con22 ference; 

23 (5) calls on the Secretary of State to— 

24 (A) initiate United States policy into ac25 tion by calling on counterparts, especially PakiVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:38 Jul 23, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1361.IH HR1361

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•HRES 1361 IH 

1 stan as the chair of the Organization of the Is2 lamic Conference (OIC) and Egypt as the head 

3 of the African Group, to demand that they take 

4 prompt and effective measures to avert what 

5 French President Nicolas Sarkozy described as 

6 ‘‘a repeat of the digression and extremes of 

7 2001’’; and 

8 (B) demarche foreign capitals raising the 

9 concerns of Congress and to report to Congress 

10 on what steps the United States and its allies 

11 have taken to address these concerns; 

12 (6) commends the countries that joined the 

13 United States, including the member states of the 

14 European Union, Albania, Andorra, Australia, Bos15 nia, Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Israel, Moldova, 

16 Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino, Serbia, the 

17 former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine, 

18 Canada, and the Republic of Korea, to vote to up19 hold earlier United Nations consensus agreements to 

20 limit the scope and funding of the 2009 Durban Re21 view Conference process; 

22 (7) urges those countries and all United Na23 tions Member States to condition any further sup24 port for the 2009 Durban Review Conference proc25 ess on the adherence to established human rights 


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•HRES 1361 IH 

1 standards and on the rejection of an agenda that in2 cites hatred against any group in the guise of criti3 cism of a particular government or that seeks to 

4 forge a global blasphemy code; 

5 (8) reaffirms its abiding commitment to the 

6 cause of combating continuing racism, racial dis7 crimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance in 

8 all its forms including religious intolerance; 

9 (9) urges all states to secure just treatment and 

10 the realization of fundamental human rights for all 

11 as enshrined in international human rights instru12 ments, in particular the Universal Declaration of 

13 Human Rights, the International Convention on the 

14 Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and the Inter15 national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; 

16 (10) commends the diverse civil society organi17 zations that have joined together to learn from the 

18 shortcomings of the 2001 World Conference Against 

19 Racism, and to work together in a spirit of solidarity 

20 and mutual respect toward a 2009 Durban Review 

21 Conference that rejects hatred in all its forms; 

22 (11) reaffirms that religious freedom is best 

23 preserved through protection of religious exercise by 

24 individuals of all faiths, without restricting the right 


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•HRES 1361 IH 

1 of individuals of all faiths to express their beliefs 

2 and consciences; 

3 (12) recognizes the purposeful attempts of some 

4 countries to use inflammatory language and divisive 

5 tactics to divert the 2009 Durban Review Con6 ference from the important goal of eradicating global 

7 racism in order to foment anti-Semitism, renegotiate 

8 commitments made at the 2001 World Conference 

9 Against Racism, and prevent a focus on the lack of 

10 political will to address the ongoing impact of racism 

11 in their own countries and communities; 

12 (13) calls on United Nations Secretary General 

13 Ban Ki-Moon to publicly urge the Human Rights 

14 Council to adhere to its mandate and to the high re15 sponsibility and expectations placed on it, and asks 

16 him to personally intervene to refocus the 2009 Dur17 ban Review Conference efforts on an actual review 

18 of what United Nations Member States have done to 

19 fulfill their commitments to combat racial discrimi20 nation and other intolerance, and on concrete action 

21 to fight racism, anti-Semitism, and all forms of ha22 tred; and 

23 (14) calls on the High Commissioner for 

24 Human Rights to urge United Nations Member 

25 States to adhere to the agreed framework of the 


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•HRES 1361 IH 

1 2009 Durban Review Conference and its previously 

2 agreed upon goals and parameters and to urge 

3 Member States of the preparatory committee to re4 turn to decisionmaking by consensus. 

Æ 


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